Strange and Beautiful
by Dance.Smartly
Summary: A modern Romeo and Juliet story, without the suicide, about Erin Mykal and Cedric Diggory, a pair of unfortunate lovers. Cowritten by True Roswellian.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Bienvenue! Empfang! Bienvenida! Het welkom! Benvenuto! Mottakelse! Boas-vindas! ...welcome. This is our fanfic, presented to you by none other than myself and Darcy (True Roswellian). We would like to thank Robert Pattinson for being oh-so-hot and J.K. Rowling for writing the fantabulous Harry Potter series. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, though I wish we did, but we do own the characters we created. The opinions expressed are that of the author.

_If you feel embarrassed, then I'll be your pride;_

_If you need direction, then I'll be the guide;_

_For all time..._

-Deathcab for Cutie; Passenger Seat

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter one

"...and if that mockingbird won't sing, momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring..."

June Mykal slowly rocked her newborn baby girl back and forth in her arms as she sang to her softly. The baby blinked at her in shock when June discontinued singing to take a moment to admire her new bundle of joy. June gently tickled the baby's stomach, making her laugh.

"You need a name, my sweet," June said. "Something perfect, just like you."

The baby let out a soft squeal of joy as June continued to tickle her. A broad smile took over June's glowing face; the face of a mother.

"Erin," she said softly. "Your name will be Erin."

The baby smiled at her, almost in approval.

"I love it too."

Erin's eyes went wide for a moment in a bit of shock. She let out a quiet hiccough before spitting up all over her mother's hospital shirt.

"What an encouraging start," June said - sarcastically - before paging one of the nurses for paper towels.

- - -

"Why can't daddy come to the zoo with us?"

"Daddy was very bad. He missed his bedtime last night."

June tightened her grip on the steering wheel with this sentence and 5-year-old Erin swore she saw a twitch under her eye.

"Bad daddy!" Erin said. "Bad daddy, bad daddy, bad daddy!"

June nodded slowly and neurotically, turning up the radio to drown out the whispers uttered under her breath.

"Bad daddy, bad daddy, bad daddy!"

Erin pressed the button to roll down her window. She then stuck her head out the window so that the heavy wind from the car flying down the main highway beat on her face.

"STOP IT!" June screeched, grabbing the collar of Erin's shirt and shoving her back into the seat. "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"

Erin stared at her mother, shock on her small face. Her mother very rarely raised her voice, never mind yelling at her. Erin slowly slunk down in her seat, trying to avoid her mother.

June began to shake slightly out of anger. Her face was turning a shade of puce that was unseen before. The window on her right began to shake in it's place. Erin barely had time to point at it with one of her stubby fingers before it shattered into tiny pieces, the shards of glass scattering all over the car.

"Mommy!" Erin wailed before breaking out into tears.

June pulled the car over onto the side of the road before checking over Erin for any incisions.

"Are you ok?" she said, running her hands over Erin's face, feeling for glass.

Erin nodded slowly. "I'm just scared."

"I'm sorry," June said, throwing her arms around Erin. "I'm just a little frustrated with daddy right now, ok?"

"It's ok," Erin said. "I love you, mommy."

- - -

_Dear Diary,_

_I HATE MY MUM!_

_She ruined my eleventh birthday!_

_I HATE HER SO MUCH!_

_So here's the low-down on what happened._

_So I'm sitting in my room, playing The Clash on my guitar after my surf lessons with Hot Jeff. She gives me a shout._

"_Erin!" she shouts. "You've got mail!"_

_So I roll my eyes and walk downstairs. Who sends me mail? I can use the tellie to reach any of my school friends. _

"_What, mum?"_

"_You have mail!" she said, in this super annoying voice as she practically bounced up and down._

_I pulled the letter from her hand. It had no return address, no stamps, just my name and address in irritatingly perfect writing._

"_What the bloody hell is this?" I asked._

"_Don't swear," she said, pathetically. "Just open it."_

_I rolled my eyes and ripped open the envelope and a letter fell out and onto the ground. I picked it up and began reading. _

'_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore_

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Ms Mykal,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress'_

"_Stupid birthday joke," I said, throwing the paper on the ground before stomping upstairs._

"_It's not," she said. "I'm a stupid freaky deaky witch, your grandmother was a stuipd freaky deaky witch, your great-grandmother was a stupid freaky deaky witch. I haven't told you about it yet because for years I was afraid you weren't a freak just like us."_

_Ok, so that's not exactly how she said it, but you get the idea._

"_Stop screwing around," I snapped. "I'm not a freak of nature, and if I am, I don't want to celebrate it, thanks. I'm going to St. Brutus's, just like dad wants, and that's final!"_

_I stomped upstairs and here I am, writing in my diary, more confused than I think I've ever been. _

_I would want to go to Hogwarts much more than I would want to go to St. Brutus's...I heard they use the cane there! But I don't want to be seen as weird by all my friends. Being a witch is being a freak of nature._

_But, this still means that I can perform sweet magical spells. _

_That will impress Hot Jeff!_

_Or I could make a sweet love potion, and get Hot Jeff._

_But if I go to Hogwarts, I'll be there all year, and never get to see Hot Jeff. _

_Oh, Hot Jeff._

_With your dark wavy hair that looks so hot when wet, and your blue eyes. Your perfectly muscular body that you show off in my surfing lessons._

_Oh, Hot Jeff..._

_Dad's home! I have to go, he hates it when I don't say hello to him right away._

_-Erin 3_

- - -

"Oh, great. She's a bloody freak like you?"

Erin stood outside the kitchen with her ear pressed to the door, listening intently to her parents' argument.

"Mike, will you stop it? I am not a freak! If I'm so much of a freak, why did you marry me?" June snapped.

"BECAUSE YOU LIED TO ME!"

Erin retaliated from the door and cringed when she heard her father hit her mother.

"Were you out drinking again?" June asked softly.

"Why do you care? You never cared before!"

"I've always cared," June pleaded. "And I always will care just please, stop drinking, get help, please!"

"I don't need your goddamn help! You stupid idiot, you're wrong!"

Erin gasped when she heard her mom let out a squeal as her father hit her once again.

"Stop it," her mother said softly as she began to cry. "Please...please..."

"You're worthless," Mike said. "Worthless and hopeless."

Erin heard footsteps approaching the door. She knew she wouldn't have time to run upstairs...

The door swung open and she stood in the crevice between the door and the wall, holding her breath in. She didn't move a muscle as she heard her dad stumble up the stairs and slam the door to the bedroom, the smell of alcohol trailing him.

"Mum?" she said softly. She heard weeping emit from the kitchen. Erin slipped out from behind the door and ran into the kitchen, kneeling beside her mother, who was lying on the ground. She was beaten badly, Erin could tell; she had a large, puffy black eye, a large black-and-blue bruise on her cheek and a cut on her chin that was bleeding profusely.

"Are you ok?"

Her mother shook her head slowly. Erin wrapped her arms around her mother's shoulders and pulled her up into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry," Erin said softly.

"For what?" June whispered.

"Calling you a freak. You're not. You're my mom and I'll be glad to go to Hogwarts. I'm proud to be a witch."

June smiled up at Erin.

"You may break the rules a lot, but you're not such a bad kid after all," she said.

"You may be annoying, but you're not such a bad mum after all, either."

- - -

**A/N: **DA END, HOMIES! I know, you're all like "Where's Cedric?" while, he's coming, in all his hot glory. Soon enough. Be patient. Much love; Danni et Darcy.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hiya! Well I don't have a fancy opening like Danni, so uhm…yeah Hi! Hope you like this chappie!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter, never have and never will, wish I did, but I don't, otherwise Cedric would be alive and with me ;-)

**Chapter 2**

"Here we are then," June said as she and Erin halted in between platforms 9 and 10 in Kings Cross Train Station. "I can't believe that I'm actually sending my baby away to Hogwarts, I n…never thought this d…day would come!"

"Mum! Please! People are staring!" Erin quickly exclaimed, glancing around at all of the people staring at her mother, who was currently in tears.

"I'm s…sorry it's just, I'll miss you so much!"

"I know mum…I'll miss you too. I'm going to be late, though, if I don't get going. You take care of yourself, you hear? Write me if anything…ANYTHING happens, and I'll be on the next train back, ok?"

"Ok, come here and give me a hug, I love you Erin," June said, blubbering some more and opening her arms.

Erin hesitated, slightly embarrassed, before hugging her mum, who pulled her close to her bosom and continued to cry some more.

"Are you done yet mum?" she asked, her face squished up against a place she didn't want it to be squished against.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Go on now, and be good, I know it will kill you, but try," June said, wiping the tears from her face.

"Bye!" Erin quickly exclaimed before taking her things and running through the barrier and into the wizarding world.

She felt a small bit of excitement as she looked around at the huge train, finally feeling free for once in her life.

That feeling quickly evaporated, though, as someone rudely bumped into her. She let out a small growl, glaring at the kid before lugging her things onto the train.

She could immediately tell that she was going to stick out from these people, who were all dressed in their nice jumpers and ironed pants or skirts.

Erin was wearing neither a nice jumper nor ironed pants or a skirt. Instead, she wore her favorite, and tightest, white wife beater and her favorite tight black jeans, along with her signature black combat boots.

She didn't really care what she wore, but she knew she had to wear those boots. They were almost like her best friends.

She slowly trekked down the hall, looking in various compartments and finding them all full, or with people she wouldn't talk to in a million years occupying them.

Sighing she continued into the next train, her brow furrowing and a frown forming on her face as she saw a couple of tall brutes picking on a small boy.

"Hey! Why don't you leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!" Erin said, dropping her things and walking over to them.

They backed off a little when they heard her, but then started snickering, "Awww look, the nerd's got a girlfriend," the uglier of the two said in an awfully off-tune sing-song voice.

"Fuck off, both of you," she growled, her eyes glowing as a snarl appeared on her face.

"What are you gonna do? Call our mummies?" the other brute asked, laughing hysterically.

Erin rolled her eyes, smirking cruelly as an idea formed in her head. She quickly cleared her throat and looked up at the less ugly guy, walking over to him slowly, her hips swaying and a playful smile on her face as she batted her eyelashes.

She walked up close to him, putting a hand on his arm and leaning up as if she were going to whisper something in his ear before kneeing him hard in the balls.

"Awww, do you have a boo boo?" she asked, throwing in another kick as he fell to the ground, holding his crotch, and sending his friend a warning glance before walking over to the poor boy.

The nerd sort of looked pathetic, she had to admit. He had glasses thicker than any she had seen before and he wore a button down shirt with a pair of suspenders holding up his pants; not to mention the fact that his hair was practically gelled down to his head.

"Are you alright? I'm Erin, by the way," she told him, extending her hand. He responded by looking at her, his eyes wide as he slowly inched away, "Uhm…are…are you alright?"

"Fine…everything's fine," he said, his voice squeaking, "I just don't…talk to many girls…"

"Well I'm not a girl, I'm Erin."

"But…but…"

"It's alright. Now, what's your name?"

"I'm…I'm Earl," he said, his voice squeaking once more.

"Well Earl, once again, I'm Erin. Why don't we go find a compartment to sit in," Erin said, chuckling slightly as she retrieved her bags.

They walked down the hall, once more coming out fruitless. Erin sighed in frustration before entering the last car.

"H…here's one," Earl said, his voice shaky as he stopped next to one of the compartments.

Erin poked her head inside to see 5 other people within it, one of them laying down on the floor and smoking something that smelled strongly.

"Got any room for us?" Erin asked. The 4 people who were actually paying attention to the world shrugged and she walked in, Earl following her, wide-eyed.

"I'm Erin, this is Earl. I just picked him up in the other car, some meat heads were harassing him," she explained, sitting down next to a very disturbed looking boy.

"I'm Dewey," he muttered quietly, his eyes darting around the compartment.

"I'm Rina," a girl sitting next to Dewey said cheerfully. She spoke with a thick German accent.

"Have you ever wondered why we don't have tails?" the boy on the floor asked randomly, his eyes glazed over as inhaled some more of whatever he was smoking.

"…and that is?" Erin asked.

"Benny…his drug of choice is weed. I'm Samaire, by the way," a girl sitting across from Erin said.

"And I'm Jeanea. It's spelt J-E-A-N-E-A, but if you ever pronounce it how it's spelled, I'll kick your ass," the girl next to Samaire said.

"Cool. Ever say anything about my boots and I'll kick _your _ass," Erin retaliated, "Are all of you…first years?"

"Yeah," Samaire said. Erin nodded and took a moment to survey everyone. Dewey was…odd, to put it lightly. Black, black hair with a nervous twitch in his hand and very pale. He was also clutching what looked like a notepad and an art kit.

Rina was what Erin liked to call a "frump girl". She had bland brown hair and bland brown eyes, and wore an ugly jumper the color of moss. Erin found it hard to believe that this girl was only 11. Her boobs were bigger than her mother's were.

Then there was Benny, who was obviously a stoner. He was pretty decent looking with short blonde hair and blue eyes. There was also the fact that you couldn't hold his attention for longer than a second.

Samaire looked, well, fierce. She had a spiky pink Mohawk with a spike collar that was around her neck, along with various spiky items on her clothing.

Last but not least, there was Jeanea. Erin had already established that this girl had a short temper, but aside from that she looked pretty normal with dark brown hair and blue eyes. She dressed a lot like the way Erin dressed.

"So, how did you all meet?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Chance. We happened to all stumble into each other out there, so we decided to sit together," Rina told her, popping her gum loudly.

"I think we should change. The train's drawing near," Dewey said, his face uncomfortably close to Erin's.

She quickly got up and pulled her robes out of her suitcase, dropping all of her clothes and putting her robes on.

Earl's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as she did this; the others didn't really seem to care, except maybe for Dewey, who took out his drawing pencil suddenly and started sketching.

Erin really hoped he wasn't sketching some weird pornographic picture of her, thinking that would really not be cool and she might have to beat him up if he did that.

When she sat back down she happened to look over at Earl, her face taking on a look of disgust almost immediately as she noticed the incredible boner he was sporting, and not even trying to hide.

She wondered if he could see even closer up with those glasses, almost regretting changing in front of him now.

Over the next 30 minutes or so everyone changed into their robes, Benny actually coming out of his stupor to watch in stoner awe as Rina changed.

"Looks like we're here," Jeanea said, sticking her head out the window and watching as the train came to a halt.

Erin quickly exited the small compartment, waiting up for the other girls before walking down the long hall.

As they were nearing the end of the train, a boy suddenly jumped out of his compartment and bumped into Erin.

She growled and pushed him off of her. He responded by turning around and winking at her.

"What the fuck?" Erin muttered to Rina, making a memorable face as he walked away with all of his other extremely preppy and probably rich friends.

One of his friends caught this and nudged the boy, who turned around and looked at her. Erin simply waved, smiling at him before walking past them all, breaking into laughter with Rina as they exited the train and waited to start their new lives.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Oh, how I love reviewers! Lalala, reviewers! Make babies with me, reviewers, for I love you ever so!

_Yeah, she caught my eye, As we walked on by. _

_She could see from my face that I was,_

_Fucking high, _

_And I don't think that I'll see her again, _

_But we shared a moment that will last till the end._

_You're beautiful. _

_You're beautiful. _

_You're beautiful, it's true. _

_I saw your face in a crowded place, And I don't know what to do, _

'_Cause I'll never be with you. _

_You're beautiful. _

_You're beautiful. _

_You're beautiful, it's true. _

_There must be an angel with a smile on her face, _

_When she thought up that I should be with you. _

_But it's time to face the truth, _

_I will never be with you._

-James Blunt; You're Beautiful

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter three

Erin stood in line behind Jeanea, tapping her foot impatiently. Around her, most of the first-years were extremely nervous in the face of the prospect of their very first sorting, but Erin knew that wherever she landed she was meant to be in.

"Ashton, Jeanea!"

Jeanea squinted her eyes in frustration as they pronounced her name "Genie". Erin gave her a playful punch on the shoulder as she walked up to the front of the Great Hall, sat on the stool, and had the hat placed on her head.

There was an awkward pause as the entire Great Hall was in complete silence, awaiting the news on where the very first first-year was going to be placed.

The brim of the hat opened and shouted out, very clearly, "Slytherin!"

Erin clapped politely as Jeanea sat down at the cheering table, looking a little nervous at being alone.

"Boulieu, Mark!"

Erin crossed her arms impatiently as Mark was sorted into the Hufflepuff house.

"Bradshaw, Samantha!"

Erin rolled her eyes dramatically as Samantha, who had a frilly bow on her head, batted her eyelashes at a boy in the crowd before sitting down on the stool, being immediately sorted into Slytherin. Samantha skipped down the Great Hall, taking a seat next to Jeanea and embracing her in a large hug. Jeanea stared at Erin, desperation in her face and quickly mouthed, "HELP ME," to her.

Erin shrugged sympathetically before turning around and bursting out into a silent bout of laughter.

"Diggory, Cedric!"

Erin glanced at the boy who walked up to the stool before clutching her stomach and laughing at seeing Samantha's affection towards Jeanea. She stopped laughing to look back up at the boy, recollection hitting her.

It was the boy who had winked at her.

It was the jerk who had bumped into her and then winked at her.

The nerve...

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. Cedric stood up and walked over to his new table, where he sat beside a very attractive girl. He glanced at Erin and gave her a sly smile before striking up conversation with the pretty girl.

Erin stared at the front of the room, her face growing redder as she became more frustrated. That jerk. That womanizing jerk! He was probably arrogant just because he was attractive, which he undeniably was. He had short brown hair that was slightly wavy, mysterious grey eyes, luscious lips that withheld a bright smile and a well-defined jaw.

Erin crossed her arms and turned her chin up to show her lack of interest.

Her patience waned as about five students were sorted. She was wondering why everyone thought this process was so interesting...

"Mykal, Erin!"

Erin walked up to the front of the room, her boots ringing as they hit the floor in the dull silence. She glared at Cedric briefly before having the Sorting Hat placed on her head, where it shielded her eyes.

"This is an obvious choice based on personality, but very curious. You are a half-blood, not to the pride of Salazar Slytherin. But I suppose there can be exceptions...SLYTHERIN!"

Erin felt the hat being lifted off her head and she headed to the Slytherin table, a broad smile on her face. She sat down next to Jeanea and they awaited the sorting of their other new friends.

"What was up with that face you made before you were sorted?" Jeanea whispered.

"You remember that kid that knocked into me on the train?" Jeanea nodded. "Well, he made this stupid smile at me again. His name's Diggory, and I don't like him already."

"He's probably just another rich bitch."

Erin covered her mouth to prevent her from embarrassing herself with a loud snort of laughter.

Jeanea and Erin remained quiet, for the most part, as the rest of the students were sorted. They made the occasional rude comment as an extremely ugly kid was sorted, but other than that only said "hey" when Benny was sorted into their house. Rina, to his dismay, was sorted as a Ravenclaw along with Earl and Dewey. The last person waiting in line to be sorted was Samaire, who looked as if she could fall asleep on the spot from sincere boredom.

"Zillah, Samaire!"

She sat on the stool, and there was an awkward moment as Professor McGonagall attempted to steer the hat around her Mohawk, having to resort to squashing it on her head violently to beat the mass amount of gel that Samaire used.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted, and Samaire briskly walked over to her friends and took a seat beside Jeanea.

"Well, now that shit's over, can we get on with our lives?"

- - -

"YOU THINK MY BOOTS ARE UGLY NOW, BITCH?"

The crowd gave a loud cheer as Erin swung another punch and hit the Hufflepuff second-year square in the eye.

"Please, stop!" the second-year whined.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Erin screamed, giving him two more punches.

"I take it back, I take it back!"

Erin brought her arm up for the fatal blow, but felt her motion being ceased as someone grabbed her by the elbow.

"Let him go," the person said, softly.

Erin relaxed her muscles and let the person help her stand her up. She gave a start when she realized that it was Cedric.

"You," she growled.

"Come with me," he said.

She began to follow him, but chose to take a step back and stomp very hard on the stomach of the second-year.

She bent over and whispered to him, "like my boots now, bitch?"

The second-year rolled over and retched on the floor as Erin followed Cedric out of the Great Hall.

"What do you want?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"That was my friend you were beating up there," Cedric said. "And I wouldn't want to see what would happen if a teacher caught you. You'd be in detention for weeks."

"You think I care?"

"You may not care, but I know I do."

"Why?" Erin asked, leaning against a wall and popping a bubble with her gum.

Cedric paused as he took in Erin. She was indubitably attractive; long blonde hair that was up in a ponytail and bright hazel eyes that were narrowed as she glared at him. She was average height but very skinny; he could see her hip bones emitting out of her jeans for her shirt was fairly short. She was wearing a black t-shirt with _'Led Zeppelin' _written across it in big white letters. She paired this with low-rise jeans held up with a black belt and her infamous combat boots. There was something cynical about her that intrigued Cedric.

"I just don't want you to get off with a bad start, alright?" he stammered.

"Whatever."

"Listen, we had a bad start," Cedric said. "Let me properly introduce myself. My name's Cedric."

Cedric held his hand out.

"Let me properly introduce my ass as it leaves."

Erin turned on her heel and marched out the door, swaying her hips a little more than usual.

- - -

**A/N: **Fin!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hooray for Danni's chapter! Lol. And hooray for reviewers!

**Chapter 4**

2 Years Later

"_I'm a lot more mature than most girls my age, you know Jeff," Erin said, grinning seductively at Hot Jeff after their surf lessons were finished. _

_It was a humid, hot day out and they were in the abandoned beach house to keep cool before Erin was supposed to head home._

"_Yeah, you're pretty cool I guess," Jeff replied, leaning his head against the wall. Erin sat up, wiping some sand off of her legs before standing up and fanning herself off._

"_Ooh, Jeff, it's kinda hot in here, are you hot?" she asked him. He cocked an eyebrow at her and shrugged._

"_Well I'm dying." _

_Erin grinned before slowly peeling off the white tank top she was wearing over her bikini and throwing it off into a corner of the beach house, her short shorts sliding down her legs, pushing them away with her feet._

_She glanced over at Jeff to see if he was watching - he totally was - and got down onto her knees before crawling over to him and whispered into his ear, "Aren't you hot, Jeff?" She ran a lone finger down his bare chest._

_He immediately sat up and was kissing her, hard, his hands quickly undoing her bathing suit before fulfilling all of her fantasies._

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Erin woke up, frowning when she realized that she wasn't there with Hot Jeff anymore. That was almost 3 months ago. She was at Hogwarts once again.

She rubbed her eyes groggily and stood up, glad that it was Saturday. She quickly changed into a tight grey t-shirt and some black jeans, jumping into her boots right before she left the dorm room.

"Wow, it's only noon, we were sure you'd be sleeping all day," Jeanea said sarcastically from where she sat.

"Ha ha," Erin replied, "let's go take a walk; it's too stuffy in this place."

"C'mon Bennster," Jeanea said, practically having to drag him out of the room so that he'd know where to go.

"Where are we going?" he asked once they were outside. It was early October and still warm enough for them not to need jackets.

"I don't know, maybe we can beat up some poor little kid, give him a swirlie or something," Erin said, shrugging as they tromped down the hill and over to the bridge.

"I know just who! Percy Weasley! Ohhh that kid bothers me something fierce!" Jeanea said, a snarl forming on her face. "He's been calling me Genie for about 2 years now and I'm about ready to smash his head into a wall."

"Let's get him," Erin replied, grinning maliciously as they turned around so that they could head back to the castle.

"Oi! Erin!"

Erin whipped around, rolling her eyes when she realized who had called her.

"What do you want, Diggory?"

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" Cedric asked, finally catching up with them. He was a good foot and a half taller than Erin and looked down at her, a smirk on his face.

"No," she replied, without a second of hesitation, glaring at him before continuing down the bridge.

"Awww c'mon, you know you'd have fun Erin," he persisted.

"How about, no I wouldn't. Now go…do whatever it is you RB's do," Erin replied, turning around and flipping him off before sniggering with Jeanea. Erin glanced over at Benny, who looked like he was on another planet, grinning as an idea came over her.

She quickly grabbed Benny's shirt and pulled him roughly over to her, kissing him with passion.

She draped her arms around his neck as they continued to kiss, Benny probably thinking that he was dreaming or something. She knew he would forget about it before the end of the hour, though.

When finally she pulled back, panting, she glanced over at Cedric, who was giving her an incredulous look, raising an eyebrow at her. "I've already got a date, bitch," she said before linking her arm with Jeanea's and walking off to find Percy.

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"SAY IT!"

"Fine f--fine!"

"J-E-A-N-E-A, JEANEA! NOT G-E-N-I-E GENIE!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Baby," Jeanea said, sticking Percy's head back in the toilet as Erin flushed once more, chuckling as she heard him protest.

"I'm sorry Jeanea, alright?" he whined, trying to get away from the toilet bowl that they were forcing him over. Jeanea quickly gave him a swift kick in the ass before leaving the bathroom with Erin and walking over to Benny, who was keeping watch - or, at least that's what they told him to do - outside the bathroom.

"Hey Erin, I have to ask you something," Benny said, shocking the hell out of Erin. In the whole 2 and a half years or so they had known each other, she did believe that this was the first whole sentence that he had directed at her.

"Shoot," she replied, bidding Jeanea adieu as she headed off to the common room to finish her homework.

"You know that chick, Rina that we're always hanging around?" he asked, taking out his joint and quickly taking a puff while no one was watching.

"What about her?"

"She's sorta hot. Has nice jugs too."

"I, uhm didn't notice," Erin replied, trying to restrain her laughter.

"So, does she have a boyfriend or anything?" Benny asked.

"Rina…noooo no boyfriend," Erin responded as they rounded a corner.

"Cool, I'll catch you later; I'm going to go find her…she's in Hufflepuff right?"

"More like Ravenclaw, Bennster. Have fun."

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_Dear Diary,_

_THAT ABSOLUTE…PRICK! He actually had the nerve to walk up to me today and ASK me to Hogsmeade. As if I'd even think about going with him, or any of the other Rich Bitches. _

_So, he asked me, and I flipped him off, it was priceless to see the expression on his face, and even more priceless when I started to kiss Benny in front of him, I could've died from laughter right there, that is if I wasn't kissing Benny._

_So then I see him after dinner and he has the nerve to SMILE AT ME._

_So what do I do? I give him the bird once again. Poor boy just doesn't seem to get that I'm not interested. I almost feel sorry for him. Almost._

_I HATE THAT BASTARD!_

_Sorry, had to get it out…I have to admit though, the bastard's sorta cute…wait, what am I saying? It's late, I should be going to bed, maybe I'll stop being so delusional._

_Erin 3_

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh that's…lovely," Erin said to Samaire as they walked back into the common room a couple of days later to find Benny and Rina at it…very much so at it, on the couch.

"I guess he told her that he liked her," Samaire said, shrugging.

"Maybe."

"Did that RB ask you again to Hogsmeade? Because I swear if he asks you one more time I'll beat him up for you, he's starting to really bug me."

"Yeah, actually he did. When you were talking to Dewey out there he came up and asked me, I kneed him and asked if he got the point that I wasn't going to say yes…so you don't need to beat him up, unless you really want to."

Samaire laughed and they went up to their dorm room to talk about the various people they had beaten up lately.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **DANCE!

_Who makes up all the rules about those girls I want?  
Who tells them all to laugh?  
Who tells them all to talk about me?_

And I'm not sure what my purpose is for being here  
Why do they, why do they  
Always kick me in the groin when I come near

-blink-182; Does my breath smell?

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter five

Erin closed her eyes and bobbed her head melodically to the music banging into her eardrums from her over-sized headphones. She sighed and gave her head a soft shake as Janis Joplin's scratchy yet beautiful voice reached a higher note. The group was on their way to Hogsmeade; the very first trip for all of them.

Erin stirred from her state of euphoria when she felt someone tapping her arm.

"What?" she snapped.

"Why do you always mess with those funky Muggle electronics?" Earl asked. "They're useless, you know."

"Batteries..." Benny mumbled, laughing.

"I don't see wizards with portable CD players!" Erin said. "I need my music."

"Music is dead," Benny said.

"Maybe music isn't dead," Erin said, philosophically. "Maybe we just forgot what it fucking sounded like!"

Erin stared daggers at Benny before putting her headphones back on and going back into her own universe, trying to forget about her dream last night.

- - -

"_Look who it is!" Mike - Erin's father - mumbled, his head rocking on his shoulders, swaying the bottle of Vodka that was in his hand. "Miss Princess Erin. Mommy's favorite."_

"_Yes, I'm higher up on the list than you!" Erin snapped._

"_DON'T SASS ME!" Mike shouted, standing up and wobbling on the spot._

_Erin rolled her eyes, sat down, and began to write her weekly letter to Jeanea._

"_DO NOT ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME!"_

_Mike grabbed the back of Erin's shirt and threw her on the ground._

"_I am your superior! I deserve your respect!"_

_Erin crawled back, trying to get out of the kitchen as quickly as possible._

"_Running will get you no where!"_

_Erin cringed as Mike grabbed her by the collar of the shirt and swung a punch, hitting her square in the nose._

"_Stop," she said, softly._

"_NEVER!" he shouted, swinging another punch and hitting her in the eye._

"_You're hurting me," Erin said, tears forming in her eyes._

"_CRYING IS FOR THE WEAK!" he screeched, hitting her once and kicking her in the rib cage._

"_Please don't..." _

_Mike picked her up and threw her hard back on the floor. He then took a swig of vodka._

"_You are weak," he mumbled, leaving Erin in a pile on the floor, crying._

- - -

"So, as I was saying," Erin said, waving her fork around. "Music shapes us. What we listen to shapes your personality. It affects your mood for the day, it affects what kind of guys you look for, and it changes everything!"

The group was sitting together in the Three Broomsticks and Erin was enjoying one of their appetizer cakes.

"I agree!" Samaire said. "I wouldn't be this way if I didn't listen to the music I listen to!"

"I'm taking away all your music," Earl said.

Samaire reached over the table and smacked him upside the head.

"Fuck you," she said. "I don't see you listening to anything better. Besides, my music has feeling, like they've really been there..."

Dewey stood up and stood behind Samaire, mocking her as she made her music speech for the hundredth time. Earl sat across the table, sniggering.

"What the fuck are you laughing at?" Samaire snapped.

Earl pointed behind her at Dewey. Samaire stood up quickly, taking the edge of the table and turning the table over.

"This is bullshit," she muttered. "I'm going to have a smoke."

Samaire stomped out of the pub, all eyes on her after the commotion that she caused.

"What crawled up her ass?" Rina asked.

- - -

"Come on, Dewey, just crawl into the cellar, he's not looking!"

Dewey glanced at his friends and then back at the cellar before running behind the counter at Honeyduke's and sliding through the trapdoor.

"Yes! Now he can go steal shit for us!" Jeanea said, grinning.

Erin turned around when she heard the bell on the door ring.

"Look what the cat dragged in," she mumbled to Jeanea.

Entering Honeyduke's was Cedric, flanked by two of his friends. As he walked through the store, all the girls stopped and took a second to admire his mere presence.

"He's so clichéd," Erin said, shaking her head.

"Look at him," Jeanea said. "Fucking RB. He's so arrogant. He knows he's hot and flaunts it."

"But he's not that hot!"

Jeanea raised her eyebrow at Erin. Erin paused, staring at Cedric and biting her lip. Her lips cracked into an evil grin.

"I have a plan," she muttered to Jeanea.

- - -

Erin walked over to Cedric, swaying her hips with a playful smile on her face. She tapped him gently on the shoulder, and he whipped around.

"Hey Cedric," she said, in a soft tone. "I'm sorry for being rude last week. You wanna go for a walk?"

She ran her finger along Cedric's arm and smiled up at him.

"Sure," Cedric said, grinning stupidly.

Erin grabbed his arm and led him out of the store.

"Just follow me," she said, winking at him softly.

She took him along a side street and out of the populated area. The two didn't speak as they walked into an open area that gave them a great view of the Shrieking Shack.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Erin said softly.

"Not in the conventional way, though," Cedric said. "In its own way."

Erin gave him a curious look. "Well, that's not important now," she said, walking closer to him. "You're important now."

She looked up at him, but behind his back she motioned to her friends. They jumped out of the woods and Erin took a step to the side as Benny threw Cedric to the ground.

"Rich bitch, rich bitch, rich bitch!" Dewey and Earl chanted as Erin, Jeanea, Rina and Benny beat up Cedric in every cruel way possible.

"Get the point," Erin said, standing over a curled-up Cedric after they had completely pummeled him. "You're never going to be with me. You don't have a chance with me. Fuck off and stop stalking me, you arrogant rich bastard."

Erin gave Cedric one final and extremely painful kick in the groin.

"Come on, guys, let's go smoke weed and eat the candy Dewey stole in the Shrieking Shack," she said.

- - -

_Dear Diary,_

_Oh, how I love marijuana! But man, I hate Cedric so much. It was weird today. As I beat him up it almost felt like revenge for everything that my dad has done. It felt good. Almost as good as being high..._

_I'm starting to feel bad for the kid. I mean, maybe he is cute..._

_Damn marijuana! Making me delusional again! Time to smack my head off a wall and get my senses back._

_-Erin 3_

- - -


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **_The wind from one door closes another_

**Chapter 6**

"Quidditch match in an hour, Hufflepuff versus Slytherin," Jeanea said, groaning as they walked out into the courtyard and past a relatively large group of rich bitches.

"Lookie what we have here, the leaders of the penniless paupers, Erin and Jeanea," a Gryffindor 6th year said, purposely mispronouncing Jeanea's name.

"Watch it jackass or I might have to pummel your face in. Like what we did with your buddy, Diggory? Because if you want an encore, I'd be happy to give you one," Jeanea growled.

"Is that a _threat_?" he asked, standing up and walking nose to nose to the both of them.

Jeanea looked up at him before spitting down at his shoes, "You betcha it's a threat you meat head," she said, before throwing the first punch.

They were soon rolling around on the ground throwing punches at each other, and Erin took this opportunity to pick out a very prissy looking girl who was laughing and pointing at all of them, grabbing her by the hair and throwing her onto the ground before starting to beat her up.

"Break it up break it up! Detention, all four of you, this Saturday night! And 50 points from Slytherin and Gryffindor each!" Professor McGonagall shrieked, running into the courtyard.

Erin, resisting, got off of the girl, glaring at all of them before storming off, Jeanea on her arm.

"OHHHH THAT WOMAN PISSES ME OFF!" Jeanea exclaimed, looking like steam was about to blow out of her ears.

"I hate them all, those fucking RB's. They should just kill themselves, end their miserable no-good lives," Erin hissed as they approached their friends.

"You ready to go sit through a miserable game of Quidditch?" Samaire asked them, popping her gum.

"Yeah, I guess. Look alive Dewster!" Erin exclaimed, pulling Dewey over to her and messing up his hair.

"Stop! Stoooop Erin you're messing it up!" he exclaimed, trying to get her off of him.

She laughed and threw her arm around him playfully before leading them all out towards the Quidditch pitch.

"HUFFLEPUFF SUCKS!" Samaire shouted at the top of her lungs as the game was being played in front of them.

Erin booed loudly as a Hufflepuff chaser scored a goal, everyone else erupting in cheers.

"AND DIGGORY IS CLOSING IN ON THE SNITCH! AND HE HAS IT! HUFFLEPUFF WINS THE MATCH!" Lee Jordan exclaimed over the microphone.

Erin booed some more before turning her head and laughing loudly at something Jeanea said.

When she turned her head back around she saw Cedric looking up at her, and then he winked at her!

"Oh my God, did he not get our message at Hogsmeade?" Jeanea exclaimed, "I should go down there and teach that boy a lesson once and for all."

"No, I'll handle this," Erin said, furrowing her brows in thought before running down and out of the Quidditch pitch.

She walked down a long hallway that she knew led to where the players locker room was, hiding in a corner until she saw Cedric emerge from the locker room, looking all sweaty and all smiles.

She emerged from her hiding spot, walking briskly over to him and taking him by the collar of his shirt, nearly slamming him against the wall before kissing him fiercely.

The heat of the kiss rose and Cedric's hands quickly circled her waist as he took it a step further.

After about a minute of intense making out Erin pulled back and looked him square in the eye, "Will you leave me alone now?" she asked, panting slightly.

"Wh…what?" he asked, still dazed from what had just happened.

"You got what you wanted, now please, just…leave me alone!" she exclaimed before walking off. After rounding a few corners she saw Dewey and ran up to him.

"Hey, what's shakin' bacon?" she asked him, seeing a sort of depressed look in his eyes.

"There's…well, something I've wanted to tell everyone for a while now," he said, getting really close to her face, like he always did when he talked to someone.

"What is it? You know you can tell me anything."

"Well, I…I…"

"Just spit it out already Dewey, it can't be that bad."

"I'm gay."

"Yeah? I sorta figured," she said, grinning. He looked at her in shock and she simply shook her head before pulling out a joint and lighting it with her wand.

She inhaled deeply before handing it to Dewey, laughing as the thought about what she had just done with Cedric.

She would get so much crap from everyone if they knew that she had done that; she wasn't planning on telling anyone, she just hoped that he wouldn't either.

"Thanks…for being a friend," Dewey said, handing the joint back to her and smiling at her.

"Any day."

Earl rounded the corner quietly as he heard voices that he immediately recognized as Erin's and Dewey's. He didn't really care much about Dewey, but Erin, she was something else completely.

He was utterly infatuated with her. Her hair, her eyes, her lips, her body, all of her.

Slowly looking around the corner he sighed softly, seeing the two of them share a joint and smile affectionately at each other. That stupid fag Dewey, he always got the alone time with Erin, never leaving any for himself.

If he could just…get 5 minutes alone with Erin to tell her how much he loved her, she would never glance at another man again. He was positive.

"Oh, Earl! Hey!" she exclaimed as she saw him peeking around the corner. He was so weird sometimes, she thought.

"H…hi Erin…Dewey," Earl said, "I'm…going now."

"Oh, ok, bye then!"

"I've got to go, so I'll see you later, ok?" Dewey said, taking one last puff before handing it back to Erin.

"Bye," she replied before taking off down the hall to clear her thoughts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Dear Diary,_

_So, today I kissed Cedric, my sworn enemy. I know, I know I'm a traitor to all of the people who are solely against even looking at the RB's, but there's just this…feeling inside of me that I'm just trying to figure out._

_I mean, he's cute and all, well…he's VERY cute. It's just the way he smiles when he's trying to get my attention, the way his hair looks in the wind and…oh my GOD what am I saying?_

_Anyways, so I kissed him, thinking maybe…just MAYBE it would help get my mind off of the petty little crush…_

_Maybe I'll come to my senses now that I've kissed him. I mean he wasn't even that good of a kisser…_

…

_I better go before I say something crazy..._

_Erin_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** The wind from one door may close another, but once a door is closed a window opens.

_She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak _

_I've been locked inside your Heart-Shaped box four whole weeks _

_I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap _

_I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black _

_Hey _

_Wait _

_I've got a new complaint _

_Forever in debt to your priceless advice _

_Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet _

_Cut myself on angel's hair and baby's breath _

_Broken hymen of your highness I'm left black _

_Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back_

-Nirvana; Heart-shaped box

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter six

2 years later

"Miss Mykal will you PLEASE pay attention before you get squirted with Buboter pus!"

Erin shook her head to get herself back on focus.

"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted by Miss Mykal's incessant drooling, we'll be doing a review on the Herbivicus charm on these Buboter plants..."

Erin rubbed her temples, trying to get her head into "class mode" again. She was thinking about Cedric, once again. Ever since she had kissed him, things had not gotten better, only worse. Unfortunately, he was in her Herbology class today, and she had been staring at him.

"Excuse me, Professor Sprout?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Can I go to the washroom, please?"

Professor Sprout pursed her lips. "Alright, but come back quickly."

Erin exited the greenhouse, cringing as a brisk November wind hit her in the face. She took a few steps away from the greenhouses and pulled a cigarette from her pocket, lighting it up with her wand.

She had just began smoking cigarettes that summer. Her father's beatings had gradually gotten worse, OWLs were approaching, and Cedric had a new girlfriend.

Erin closed her eyes as she took a puff of her cigarette, feeling calmer as the nicotine penetrated her. She had come to the conclusion that she was doomed to die, anyway, so why not speed up the process?

She took a deep breath out and tightened held her robes closer to her body, shivering slightly. She took another inhalation of her cigarette.

"Can I bum a smoke off of you?"

Erin whipped around when she heard Cedric's voice. She swallowed the smoke in her mouth and began coughing violently. Cedric patted her on the back.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine, you just scared the shit out of me," she said.

"What about that smoke?"

"I like your lingo," she said, smiling, "but you shouldn't get into smoking. It's bad for your health."

"Then why do you?"

"Personal problems," she muttered. "How's that new girlfriend of yours, anyway?"

Cedric shook his head. "She's not my girlfriend," he said.

Erin raised her eyebrow, looking at him skeptically. She said, "you guys looked pretty comfy last time I saw you."

"Her boyfriend had just dumped her. I was just comforting her."

Erin nodded slowly, taking another inhalation of the cigarette. The two of them stared out at nothing in particular, both in apparent deep thought.

"Do you still like me?" Erin said slowly. Cedric nodded solemnly.

"Why?" she said.

"You're...intriguing."

Erin looked up at him and gave him a very faint smile.

"I think you need this," she said, holding a cigarette out for him.

- - -

Erin sat on a bench on the school grounds, smoking with Samaire, Rina and Benny. Jeanea, Dewey and Earl were sitting on the opposite side of the bench, gossiping over one thing or another.

Erin slouched a bit when she saw Cedric approach them, a sly smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Hey Erin," he said. "How's it going?"

Samaire elbowed her hard in the ribs and gave her a questionable look. "What the fuck?" she mouthed.

"Cedric, what are you doing here?" she said, glancing around nervously.

"Have we not done enough to show you that she doesn't like you?" Samaire said.

"Or are we going to have to show you again?" Jeanea asked, standing up and rubbing her fist in her palm.

"Gladly," Benny said, swaying a bit as he stood.

"I'll just...go..." Cedric said softly, taking a few steps back before turning on his heel and walking off.

Erin stared at him, feeling her heartstrings being pulled. She could either follow him and abandon her friends and their beliefs against the Rich Bitches or abandon him and make him feel like she was just toying with him.

"What the fuck was that shit about?" Jeanea asked, sitting down.

Erin shook her head slowly, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't be completely bitchy towards Cedric.

"Hey, Erin," Samaire said. "I'll give you five galleons if you go on a date with him."

Erin's eyebrows rose as she looked over at Samaire.

"Deal," she said.

"I'll pitch in two joints if you stay with him for a week," Benny said, a stupid smile on his face.

"I'll give you that slutty shirt of mine that you love if you fuck him," Rina said. Benny cast her a downtrodden look.

"I love that shirt!" he said. "It makes your tits look great!"

Rina smacked his arm.

"I'll pitch in another 5 if you dump him harshly," Jeanea said.

"I'll finish that Transfiguration paper that's due on Monday if you sleep with him on the first date," Earl said.

Dewey leaned in closer than usual and whispered, "I'll throw in a few galleons if you give me a piece of his precious hair."

Erin gave him a strange look, a bit afraid. He just smiled nervously and nodded.

"You guys are on," Erin said. She put her cigarette out on the bench and walked in the direction that Cedric had left in.

He was standing on the bridge, looking towards the black lake, watching the sun set. He looked so peaceful as the wind lightly brushed through his hair and the setting sun casting an orange glow on him.

"Cedric?" Erin said softly, mourning over ruining the mood.

"What," he snapped.

"I'm sorry for what my friends said," she said. "They can be a bit...judgmental at times, to say the least."

"You seem to be, too."

"I haven't told them we've been talking," she said. "They don't really like your group."

"Whatever," Cedric said softly, turning to her.

"Listen, let me make it up to you," Erin said, touching his arm lightly. "Let me make everything up to you. Would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me on Saturday?"

Cedric's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Of course!" he said, smiling brightly. "As long as your friends don't tag along..."

"Don't worry about them. I've already told them off."

Erin threw her arms around Cedric, embracing him in an innocent hug.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, more to herself than him.

- - -

Erin walked back up to her dormitories that night at about 8 o' clock. She hadn't played her guitar in almost two weeks now and she knew it was time to practice.

She took it out of the case in the corner, placing it on her lap gently. She spent a few minutes tuning it before beginning to play "Over the hills and far away" by Led Zeppelin.

"Hey lady, you got the love I need," she sang. "Oh darling, walk a while with me; you've got so much..."

She stopped when she realized how horrible and off-tune her voice was. She played her guitar for about a half hour before placing it back in its case and picking up her diary.

_Dear diary,_

_Today I arranged a date with Cedric. It wasn't under normal circumstances, though; I get paid._

_I'm starting to question whether it's worth the money to put him through all this bullshit and break his heart._

_But then again, if I don't, I betray my friends._

_What the fuck am I going to do?_

_-Erin_ 3

- - -


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Rock on!

_In the car I just can't wait  
to pick you up on our very first date  
Is it cool if I hold your hand?  
Is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?  
Do you like my stupid hair?  
Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?  
I'm too scared of what you think  
You make me nervous so I really can't eat_

Let's go, don't wait, this night's almost over  
Honest, let's make this night last forever  
For ever and ever, let's make this last forever  
For ever and ever, let's make this last forever

When you smile, I melt inside  
I'm not worthy for a minute of your time  
I really wish it was only me and you  
I'm jealous of everybody in the room  
Please don't look at me with those eyes  
Please don't hint that you're capable of lies  
I dread the thought of our very first kiss  
A target that I'm probably gonna miss

Let's go, don't wait, this night's almost over  
Honest, let's make this night last forever  
For ever and ever, let's make this last forever  
For ever and ever, let's make this last forever

-blink-182; First Date

**Chapter 8**

"So, how did it go?" Jeanea asked as Erin walked back to the group a couple of minutes later.

"It went…well, I guess. I asked him, and he agreed. We're going to Hogsmeade together," Erin told them this as if it didn't matter much to her.

"I can't WAIT for this! Pretty little Rich Bitch is going to be oh so crushed when you dump him harshly after deflowering him! Boo hoo," Samaire said, cackling evilly.

"…Yeah," Erin responded, giving her half a smile, "I'm off to bed, g'night."

"Wait, where are we meeting you on Saturday?"

"Uhm, yeah, you guys can't come, that was one of the things he told me when he accepted the date…"

"Oh, fine, ditch your friends for him, whatever."

"Heyyy, it was you guys who wanted this in the first place, so drop it. Good night."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What should I wear?" Erin asked, looking through her wardrobe of clothing, though there really wasn't much variety in it at all; it mostly consisted of black items.

"Why do you care what you're wearing on your date with him? Just wear what you usually wear," Jeanea said offhandedly from her bed, where she was vedging.

"Ok," Erin replied, frowning and taking out a tight black baby tee with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of The Moon logo on it, along with her normal tight black jeans and her boots.

"You're acting like you actually care what you look like," Jeanea said, propping herself up on her elbows and looking strangely over at Erin, "you…don't…do you?"

"No, of course I don't, don't be an idiot Jeanea," Erin quickly replied, putting her hair up in its normal 'do before leaving, "I'll catch you later, or tomorrow…"

She left the dorm room and ran almost straight out of the common room, glancing briefly at her watch as she walked to the Entrance Hall. She was late, of course. She wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey, I thought you weren't going to show for a minute there," Cedric said when he saw Erin approaching.

"Of course I was going to show, now let's get going," Erin told him, smiling flirtatiously up at him and taking his arm in hers.

They walked out to the carriages, Cedric holding the door open for her and helping her in.

There was an awkward silence throughout the whole ride, Erin not knowing what to talk about, and glad when they finally reached Hogsmeade.

"So…where to first? Do you want to go to Honeyduke's?" Cedric asked her once they walked into the busy village.

"Nah, follow me," Erin said, reaching out and taking his hand, winking at him quickly before taking him away from the busy area of Hogsmeade and to a little nook in the wall shop called 'Moe's General Store.'

"Wow, I haven't seen this place before."

"You just haven't bothered looking."

"So…what do they have in here that caught your eye?"

"Just follow me right back here…" Erin told him, walking to the back of the store and going through some beads hanging from the ceiling.

She glanced back at Cedric who looked like he was going to die from embarrassment, "Erm…where exactly a-are we Erin?" he asked her.

"The back of Moe's has lots and lots of…naughty things," she told him, smirking when he tried to walk out, "you're not getting away that easy, Mister."

"Erin! Haven't seen you in a while! How you doing kiddo?" Moe, the owner of the store, asked, coming out from a back room.

"Alright Moe, this is Cedric, we're on a date," Erin told him, pulling a very uncomfortable looking Cedric over to her, "He's a little shy," she added in a whisper.

"Well, most canned goods are…he is a canned good isn't he?" Moe asked her, looking Cedric over.

"Most definitely," Erin said, quickly nodding, knowing that Cedric had no clue that they were referring to his virginity. "You don't mind if I just browse for a little bit, do you?"

"Go right ahead, I'll be up front," Moe told her, winking before heading up to the front of the store.

Erin turned around and grinned at Cedric before slowly walking around the small room, reaching out and grabbing a vibrating tongue ring once she found one.

"What…what're those?" Cedric asked as she picked up something else from the shelf.

"Oh, these? Fuzzy black handcuffs, and these, these are rubbers, grape flavored and ridged for extra pleasure, and this is a vibrating tongue ring," Erin told him, handing him all of the things to hold before going back to the shelves, swaying her hips more than usual and taking down some candles and a whip, which she hid: she didn't want to scare off the poor boy.

"A-Are you done?" Cedric asked her when she came back over to him a few minutes later.

"Yup, let's go pay for all of this and then we can go somewhere more Cedric friendly."

"Ok."

Erin dumped everything on the check-out counter, earning a disapproving glare from some old witch as Moe rung everything up.

"That'll be 10 galleons," Moe told her, placing everything in a bag.

"But Moe! I paid you in advance…remember?" Erin told him, winking from across the counter.

"Ohhh, oh right, of course…ahem, 8 galleons then," he corrected himself, his eyes going wide as she handed the money over. He winked and gave her the bag, Erin glancing over at Cedric and noticing he had an odd look on his face.

"Bye Moe! Thank you! This will really help with the canned goods!" Erin called as they headed for the exit.

"I hope they do!" Moe called in return.

"So…how about we get a drink at the Hog's Head. I find the Three Broomsticks to be too busy most of the time, and it's easier to get a bit more…personal at the Hog's Head," Erin said, looking over to Cedric, who still looked mildly uncomfortable.

"Sure."

"Hey, relax! I won't bite you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright."

She looked down at his hand and reached out, grabbing it and lacing their fingers together.

Cedric looked over at her, smiling shyly before relaxing his hand a bit as he got used to it. Erin led the way to the small pub on the outskirts of town.

"What d'ya want?" the bartender asked when they sat down.

"2 Butterbeers please," Erin said to him.

He brought them their drinks a moment later and Erin opened the both of them, quickly drinking half of hers.

"You're awfully quiet…" she said.

"I am? Sorry, just nervous I guess, I mean I'm finally on a date with you, I don't want to screw it up, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess I do, but you don't have to be nervous around me."

She smiled over at him, downing the rest of her drink and ordering 2 more from the bartender as Cedric finished his.

That one was quickly finished as well and she found herself feeling adventurous, scooting her chair a little closer to Cedric's and leaning over to him.

"They rent out rooms you know," she said softly, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Uhm…yeah."

"Why don't we rent one…see what it's like…maybe try out some of this stuff I bought?" she asked, biting her lower lip softly as she waited for his answer.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Your mom rock on! Oh, and a very Happy Easter to all of you.

_You get me every time_...

_Why d'ya have to be so cute?  
It's impossible to ignore you  
Must you make me laugh so much  
It's bad enough we get along so well  
Say goodnight and go_

-Imogen Heap; Goodnight and Go

**Strange and Beautiful.**

Chapter 9

Cedric's eyes went wide as he felt Erin's hand run up his leg.

"Uh..." he stammered, at a loss for words. If he declined her offer he may never have another chance with her; but, if he accepted, he wasn't sure if he was ready for what she wanted...

"Alright," he said, nodding slowly. He felt better when she gave him a warm smile.

"Bartender!" Erin shouted. "Get your ass over here and get us a room!"

- - -

As soon as the two got into the room, Erin threw her bag onto the floor, grabbed the front of Cedric's shirt and threw him against the wall, kissing him passionately.

"I...don't...know..." Cedric stuttered between moans as Erin began to bite his neck playfully.

"You need encouraging?" Erin asked, giving him a quick kiss after he nodded. She then pulled herself out of his grasp.

"What are you..."

Cedric's question was cut off by Erin's finger covering his lips. "Hush, you'll see."

He stood, motionless, as Erin took the vibrating barbell to put through her tongue piercing from the bag and putting it on. She also took the fuzzy handcuffs from the bag and twirled them on her finger.

Erin was surprised as Cedric grabbed her by the waist and shoved her against the wall, his apprehension apparently disappearing.

Cedric covered her lips with his own, moaning slightly as she ran her tongue ring over his tongue. He slipped his hands under her shirt, sliding them up her smooth skin. She sneaked a sly smile at him as he pulled her shirt over her head. His eyes went wide as he saw large bruises littering her thin stomach.

"What are those?" he asked.

"Let me tell you later," she said, batting her eyelashes at him. "I'm way too turned on right now."

She threw his shirt over his head, letting out a gasp when she saw his muscular chest and chiseled abs.

"Come to mama!" she muttered, grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him voraciously onto the bed.

She strutted over to him, throwing her one leg over the bed so she was straddling him. She leaned down and began kissing him fiercely while he reached around and undid the back of her black lacy bra. He cupped her breasts in his hands and began to slowly massage them.

She stopped kissing him and gave him an evil smile. She pulled a handkerchief from her back pocket and tied it over Cedric's eyes.

"What..." he stammered.

She then took the fuzzy handcuffs and handcuffed him to the bed. She kissed down his chiseled chest and teased one of his nipples, causing him to let out a short moan. She kissed down his stomach, tearing off his pants. She bit the rim of his heart boxers and pulled them down with her teeth.

"You still need convincing?" she asked as she took him to places of ecstacy he didn't know existed.

- - -

"That...was...amazing..." Cedric breathed.

"Yeah," Erin said. "No kidding."

Cedric rolled over so that he was on his side and pulled Erin closer to him.

"Listen, we barely know each other. Tell me everything; your friends, your family, those bruises, that creepy guy in the store, everything."

"Ok, let's start with my friends," she said, throwing a sly smile at him. "There's Jeanea, my best friend; she's just a lot like myself. There's Samaire, she's the one with the pink mohawk, and she's kind of the old-school punk type who swears way too much. There's Rina, also known as "The Titties", she's a crazy German. She's dating Benny, who's the stoner kid. Then there's Dewey, he's a creepy art kid. He trusts me, for whatever reason. Finally there's Earl, he's the biggest nerd, kinda creeps me out sometimes but he's cool enough. The ones you have to watch out for are Jeanea, Samaire and Benny; they're the ones who beat on people and hate your group so much."

"What's my group?"

"The rich bitches."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "I'm far from that."

Erin gave him a quizzical look. "But your friends are so...arrogant. I'm not saying you are, but they sure are."

"I have a lot of friendly acquaintances," Cedric said, "but not many true friends. There's Martin, he's my best buddy, then George, who's the loud and obnoxious one. The only other three I really hang with are Sam, Farren and Grunt."

Erin raised her eyebrow. "Grunt?"

"Well you see," Cedric began, smiling. "Last year, Grunt really liked this Slytherin girl. We eventually convinced him to ask her to Hogsmeade. He approached her, tapped her on the shoulder, and all he could get out was a grunt before gaping at her!"

Erin laughed loudly. "He asked out my friend Jeanea!"

They both took a moment to laugh. "It's a small world, isn't it?"

Erin nodded slightly, and smiled warmly at Cedric, who returned the warm smile.

"Tell me about your family," he said.

"There's my mom, also known as "the bigger titties". She's nice and a little overprotective. Then there's my dad..."

Erin's voice trailed off.

"He's the one who gave you those bruises, isn't he?"

Erin nodded slowly. "He's a Muggle. When he found out my mom was a witch, he began to drink alcohol. Things just went downhill from there."

Cedric ran his hand along Erin's side consolingly.

"No one else knows this. Promise you won't tell anyone."

"I promise," Cedric said, smiling lightly at her.

"On a hopefully happier note, tell me about your family."

"My dad works for the Ministry, small job in the Magical Creature unit. My mom stays at home to take care of my year-old sister."

"Gross, small children."

"But she's so cute!"

"But she barfs!"

"You wouldn't understand unless you had one, I guess."

"Don't plan on it," Erin said, rolling her eyes. "Doesn't sound fun to have your vagina triple size so that you can give birth to a barfing, shitting mess."

"You have a point there," Cedric said, laughing. "Now, what was with that at the store?"

"I slept with him before," Erin said, quite calmly.

"WHAT?"

"Yeah," Erin said. "It was no big deal. I've slept with a few people before."

"Well, I guess that was to be expected," Cedric said. "You know I still like you."

Skye looked at him, wonder in her eyes. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

Cedric gave her a hug. "I really like you."

- - -

"Hey guys, look what I got!"

Erin returned from the Inn the next day and approached her friends, which were smoking on their usual bench.

"What?" Dewey asked.

Erin pulled the used rubber from her pocket. "This!" she said, proudly. "So take that! I can seduce an RB!"

"I don't know how you did it," Samaire said, clapping her on the back.

- - -

"Hey, Cedric!"

Cedric was sitting eating dinner with Martin when he heard his name being called behind him. He turned around and smiled broadly at the sight of Erin approaching him.

"Hey," he said softly as she took a seat beside him.

"I have something to show you," Erin said. "Meet me outside the Entrance Hall in fifteen minutes?"

Cedric nodded. "Sure."

"Great," Erin said, giving him a quick kiss. "I'll see you then."

She stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, her hips swinging in their usual sexy way.

When she reached the Entrance Hall she stood outside and lit up a cigarette. Last night with Cedric had been one of the best nights of her life. They had stayed up for hours talking. He was so kind and compassionate, always willing to listen. She realized that she was really falling for him, but she only had a few days before the inevitable breakup.

She had just finished her cigarette when she heard soft footsteps from behind her and felt Cedric's arms wrap around her stomach gently.

"What do you want to show me?" he whispered into her ear.

"Follow me," she said, grabbing him by the arm and leading him wordlessly over to the lake. She stopped him when they were at the shore of the lake.

"Ok, you lost me. I expected you to drag me to some hot hidden bedroom."

"Oh no, this is much better," Erin said, laughing. She pulled her cd player out of her coat pocket and placed it on the ground.

"_Sonorus,"_ she muttered, pointing her wand at it. Cedric smiled when he heard a soft acoustic guitar emitting from her headphones.

"This," Erin began, grinning, "is Pink Floyd. My favorite band. This is my favorite song by them, called Wish You Were Here."

Cedric put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.

"I really like it," he said, smiling at her. "Let's make this our song."

"Our song," she said, smiling at him.

He connected their hands together and they began to spin to the music under the moonlight. At that moment, both Erin and Cedric realized that they were falling in love.

- - -


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: I heart reviewers!

**Chapter 10**

Cedric grinned as he swatted at Erin's ponytail playfully as they walked through the courtyard.

"Cedric, stop it, I don't recall you being a cat," Erin said, trying to get him to stop but failing. "I think you're disobeying me, sir."

"Oh yeah? What do you plan on doing about it?"

"I think I'll just have to show you."

Erin grinned and pushed Cedric up against the nearest wall and began to kiss him passionately as his arms wrapped tightly around her back.

"GET A ROOM!"

They both quickly looked up, Cedric blushing slightly as he realized that it was Erin's friends who had made the comment, namely Samaire, whom had always scared the shit out of him.

"Look at her guys, she's beginning to become a rich bitch right in front of our eyes," Samaire sneered.

Cedric turned around momentarily and scratched the back of his neck, Erin rolling her eyes as Samaire made humping motions behind Cedric's back, stopping as Cedric turned back around.

"Look…Could you quite possibly…stop?" Cedric asked, once he turned around. "What has she done to deserve any of this? Erin is a kind, compassionate girl, and if you can't accept the fact that we're together then you're pathetic."

"Are you going to let him talk to us like that?" Samaire demanded.

"He's right, and I'm proud of him for sticking up for me," Erin said, looking up at Cedric and smiling softly at him.

"Whatever," Samaire replied, rolling her eyes before turning her attention to a nearby Gryffindor first year by harassing him.

Cedric took her hand in his and softly kissed her before they started to walk out of the courtyard, Erin seeing Rina and Benny making out behind a bush as right as they walked inside the hallway.

"Your friends are very…interesting," he commented, smirking down at her. She punched his arm lightly, but laughed the same.

"They are, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Erin, I need to talk to you, privately."

"Ok, hold on just a moment Jeanea, I have to finish up my Potions homework."

"No, I need to talk to you now. You can copy off of Earl before class tomorrow, I promise."

Erin sighed and closed her book before following Jeanea upstairs to their dormitory.

"So, what is it that was so important you had to drag me away from my homework?" Erin asked sarcastically.

"You know that guy, Adrian Pucey? He's the seeker for our house's Quidditch team."

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well, he sort of asked me out earlier today…and I sort of said yes…"

"OH MY GOD, ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS! I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!"

Erin nearly fell off her bed as Jeanea told her this and she quickly hugged her best friend.

"Thanks…we're going to Hogsmeade together next time it rolls around. I think that's next month, but other than that, this Saturday we're hanging out around the grounds and stuff."

"This Saturday…that's the day I have to break it off with Cedric…"

"Yeah! Only 4 more days! I know you're excited, I feel for you girl, having to sleep with a rich bitch and then pretend to like him for a week. You are a brave, brave soul," Jeanea said, patting her shoulder.

Erin stayed quiet for a minute as she realized how much she would end up hurting Cedric and Jeanea must have noticed this.

"Oh my god…please, please don't tell me that you actually care for him!"

"Don't be silly…of course I don't!"

"You better not be…because that would really not be cool, it's bad enough that you've been dating him for the past 3 days or so, but if you actually liked him…"

"Enough already!"

Erin stood up, sighing and walking out of the room to go find Cedric and to clear out her thoughts.

She spotted him in the Great Hall and plopped herself down next to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and kissing his neck.

"I didn't see you sitting down!" he exclaimed, turning around and kissing her softly.

"Come take a walk with me," she said softly, grinning at him before standing up.

He stood up as well, reaching down for her hand before they walked out of the Great Hall, Erin leading him up the stairs until they reached the floor that the Room of Requirement was on.

"I think I know this place," Cedric said, grinning as they approached it.

"Why is there already a door here?"

"I don't know, let's open it."

Erin shrugged and reached out, opening the door and walking in, bright lights filling the room as she thought about how dark it was.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Cedric said, looking wide eyed at the scene before him as Erin proceeded to crack up, holding her sides in laughter.

Dewey was perched above none other than Draco Malfoy, a whip in his hand, and Draco chained down to the bed, various other naughty things strewn throughout the room.

Dewey looked up, not blushing a bit, and he looked straight at Cedric, waving at him with one finger.

Cedric looked like he was about to faint and fled from the room, yelling that he'd see Erin later as he flew down the hallway.

"Oh Dewey you scared him away! And, hello Draco. My you look ever so lovely in pink leather," Erin said, snorting in laughter some more as Draco tried to talk, but Dewey stuffed a handkerchief in his mouth.

"We were…playing…," Dewey stammered. "You can leave now if you wish, unless you wanted to…watch, you could bring your friend, Diggory, and he could join us…"

"Yeah, bye Dewey, bye Draco!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Dear Diary,_

_With only 2 days until I have to break it off with Cedric…I really don't know how I'm going to be able to bring myself to breaking his heart._

_As awful as it sounds, I might have actually fallen for a rich bitch…_

…_and I'm not ashamed of it._

_Anyways, I was obviously getting desperate, because while walking off to find Cedric after that little Dewey incident, I happened to see none other than Harry Potter, "the boy who lived" or whatever it is…and this little idea formed in my head…_

_I am a bad girl…_

_- Erin_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Ok, I'm telling you all this because it kinda weirded me out. Watch the video "Always" by blink-182; the girl in the video is the epitome of Erin. It's funny, because she's an Aussie actress/singer/possibly porn star...

_I play it off but I'm dreamin' of you  
I'll keep my cool but I'm feeling...  
I try to say goodbye and I choke  
I try to walk away and I stumble  
Though I try to hide it, it's clear  
My world crumbles when you are not near_

-Macy Gray; I try

**Strange and Beautiful.**

Chapter 11

Erin sat in the Great Hall, slowly chewing on her potatoes as she gazed off into the distance, her eyes out of focus. She watched as Harry Potter slowly stood up and headed out of the Hall.

"This is rubbish," she muttered to Jeanea. "I'm going to have a smoke."

She stood up and gave Jeanea a quick pat on the shoulder before following Harry out of the Great Hall.

Erin saw him walking briskly up the steps and whipped out her wand. She flicked her wand and a tear appeared in Harry's bag, the contents spilling everywhere. (A/N: so what if I stole this from Harry Potter 4? Maybe he got the idea from Erin, eh?)

"Let me help you," she said, bending forward to put extra emphasis on her cleavage. Harry just stared, helplessly.

"Uhh..." he stammered. "Do...do I know you?"

"I'm Erin," she said, sticking her hand out and flashing him a smile.

"I'm Harry," he said, fitting his hand into hers and shaking it.

"What's this?" she asked, holding up a book. "Moste Potente Potions? What have you been brewing?"

"Nothing," he stuttered, snatching the book from her. "It's nothing."

"Maybe a love potion?" she asked, leaning in closer. Harry let out a noise that sounded oddly like a whimper. "I think that's against school rules."

Harry's eyes widened and he nodded slowly. "I...umm..."

"Do you need to be punished?" she asked, biting her lip sensually and running her fingers along his chest. He shook his head slowly, in denial of the fact that a beautiful girl three years older than him was hitting on him. "I think you do," she said softly.

"I...uh...I...uh..."

"You're stuttering," Erin said slyly. "How cute."

Erin leaned in slowly and – after a quick check to make sure no one was watching – placed her lips against Harry's soft ones. He seemed taken aback as he leaned back, letting her take control. She pressed her tongue against his lips, tempting him to open his mouth, but he just pushed her away.

"What's wrong?" she asked, gently tracing his cheek with her finger.

"I'm not going to do this," he said, beginning to pick up his books. "I barely know you."

"You need to be tempted, then," she said, leaning in even closer and placing her hand on his thigh.

"No..." he said. "No, I shouldn't."

Harry felt it extremely hard to say no as he gazed into her hazel eyes. Though they lacked sincerity, there was something curious about them; it was as if she knew something he didn't, but if he followed her then he'd find out.

He slowly leaned in, as if being closer to her would give him some of her confidence, which was ebbing off of her at the moment. She was so fascinating; he wanted a piece of her...

Before he even could control himself, he was kissing her again. She was very gentle yet sensual, and confident enough to go anywhere and do anything.

He felt her hand slide up his leg slowly as the kiss became deeper. She pressed her tongue against his lips and, giving in to temptation, he let her tongue slip inside his mouth. They seemed to fit together so perfectly...

"Let's go somewhere more...comfortable..." she suggested, after her hand had run up his leg far enough that she could feel his erection.

Harry nodded slowly, his eyed closed in a state of euphoria. Erin grabbed him by the arm and threw him into a nearby empty classroom.

She pushed him against a wall, grinding her pelvis against his, a sly smile playing at the corner of her mouth as she felt his full-on erection against her leg. She reached her hand down into his pants and began running her hand up and down his erection, causing him to let out a soft moan.

To her surprise, Harry got up the strength to push her down on the floor and pull down her jeans.

"I may not be experienced," he breathed heavily, pulling her shirt over her head. "But this feels damn good and I'll try my best!"

- - -

Erin and Jeanea sat on a bench on the school grounds, Erin fighting to light up her cigarette against the falling snow.

"Here," Jeanea said, lighting it with her own wand. "You're kind of bad with that, aren't you?"

Erin shot her a dirty look.

"I went out with Adrian last night," Jeanea said, attempting to mask her excitement.

"How'd it go?" Erin asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Well, first I watched his Quidditch practice, and then we just kind of went on a stroll of the grounds. Not much, but it was nice. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's really attentive, I think. He actually listened to me, unlike most guys."

"Seriously," Erin said, inhaling smoke from her cigarette, "I really hope you guys get somewhere. I want to see you with a nice guy, for once."

"He didn't even ask for sex!" Jeanea said. "Not saying that's a good thing, but it's not a bad thing, either."

"I get it," Erin said, a smile peeking out from the corner of her mouth.

"What did you do last night? I never saw you after dinner."

"Not much," Erin said calmly. "Just banged Harry Potter."

"WHAT?"

Jeanea fell backwards off of the bench in surprise.

"Just don't tell anyone," Erin said calmly, noting Benny, Rina, Samaire and Earl approaching them. "It'll ruin my rep."

Samaire walked towards Jeanea and stared down at her, confusion on her face. "What the fuck are you doing down there?"

"Nothing..." Jeanea said, shooting Erin a surprised look. "I fell."

"Idiot," Samaire said, pulling a cigarette out of her pocket and lighting it with her wand.

"I was sitting in Astronomy today," Rina began, her German accent heavy, "and Sinistra was being a complete jackass. I ask to go to washroom; he say 'No, you just want to go out with boyfriend'. So, I turn to him, I go, 'suck my invisible cock, bitch, I am not a whore!' and I left."

"That's my girl!" Benny said, grabbing her by the waist roughly and pulling her down beside him, her boobs bouncing as she was jostled around. The two began to kiss.

"Disgusting," Samaire muttered. "God, McGonagall was being such a bitch today. She went off complaining about my hair, saying how it's disrespectful to the school; God, I have to pull that rat out of her ass so she'll let up a bit."

"But McGonagall's not a bad teacher," Earl argued. "She may be uptight, but..."

"Fuck you, Earl," Samaire snapped. "You're such a prick."

Earl hung his head low and Erin shot an admiring look at Samaire. Everyone else was too afraid to drop the self-esteem of someone whose self-esteem is as low as Earl's.

"So..." he said, after an awkward pause. "Where's Dewey, anyway?"

Erin shrugged. "I don't..."

She stopped and stared in disbelief.

Walking towards them was a woman.

But the person was not really a woman.

It was Dewey.

He was wearing knee-high lace-up boots and a short black skirt that showed off freshly shaved legs. He was wearing a button-up checkered shirt that was tied underneath his chest and he appeared to have worn a stuffed bra underneath it. He had very heavy makeup on and his hair was up in high pigtails.

"I'm gay!" he declared proudly, once reaching the group.

There was an odd pause as everyone stared at Dewey, blank expressions on their faces.

"No kidding," Samaire said. Dewey's shoulders sunk and he took a seat on the bench beside Rina, who moved closer to Benny to avoid Dewey.

"So anyway," Samaire said, trying to seem unfazed by their new cross-dressing friend, "McGonagall threatened me with a detention next time I wear my hair spiked up in class. I'm so pissed off! I mean..."

Erin's concentration slipped away from Samaire's loud rant, and even away from the initial shock of the female Dewey. Her attention was on Cedric, who was walking quickly towards the group, an angry look on his face.

He grabbed Erin by the arm and pulled her up from her seat aggressively, sending her cigarette flying in the air as he pushed her behind Hagrid's cabin.

"Erin," he said, his voice surprisingly soft. "I can't take it any more. Every time I'm with you, I feel elated. You are such an amazing person, there's just something about you that's so amazing. I can't avoid it, I've tried to deny it, but I can't any more. I love you, Erin Mykal, I love you!"

Erin swallowed as she tried to fight back the tears welling in her eyes. She knew she felt the same way about him; she wanted to declare it to the world. Instead, she felt the wrong words come out of her mouth.

"I'm sleeping with Harry," she muttered. Cedric stared at her, a look of disbelief on his face. Erin averted her eyes and ran off, away from the pressure of her friends and away from Cedric.

- - -


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**: Wow, chapter 12 already, lol. (Note from Danni) If you own a copy of Harry Potter 3, if you read the chapter "Grim Defeat" it clearly says that Cedric is in 5th year, when he must be in 7th year in order to compete in the Triwizard Tournament next year. OH! Burn on J.K.

**Chapter 12**

Erin kept running until she reached her dorm room, going over to her bed and slipping underneath the covers as her held back tears, but she could not stop them; they began to freely flow down her cheeks.

She was left to herself for a while until footsteps from outside disrupted her alone time.

"Erin? What the fuck are you crying for?" Jeanea asked after walking in and kicking her shoes across the room.

"I'm not in the mood to argue right now Jeanea…really," Erin said softly, sitting up and wiping roughly at her eyes to get rid of the tears.

"Suck it up, stop acting like a pussy," Jeanea said, bouncing on her bed and lighting up a joint.

"Who shoved a stick up your ass?" Erin demanded.

"No one! You should give me warning before just running off like that next time though…leaving me with miss 'I'm going to kill you', Mr. 'I decided I want to be a drag queen', the freaky nerd, and the two that can't keep their hands off each other."

"I'm sorry, ok? Cedric just dragged me away, as you saw."

"What was with him anyways? He looked pissed. Oh my god! Did he figure out about Harry?"

"Not exactly…"

"Dish, now."

"Well, he took me behind Hagrid's hut and he told me…well he told me he loved me. I couldn't take the pressure, so I told him that I was sleeping with Harry, and now I'm a wreck."

"You should be relieved!" Jeanea exclaimed.

"But I'm not! I cared about him Jeanea…I love him!"

Silence filled the room as Jeanea's eyes widened before she slowly blinked, as if to see if this was really happening.

"What. The. Fuck?"

"You heard me! Stop acting like such of a judgmental bitch for once in your life and see that I'm in love!"

"I can't believe you! Calling me judgmental? Who was the one who hated his sorry ass in the first place? I can't believe you fell for a rich bitch! THE LEADER OF THE RICH BITCHES!"

"He's not like that! He's different! He's warm, and caring, and sincere, and I love him! I wish I had never made that fucking bet!"

"Oh, speaking of that. Here's your money, and everything else," Jeanea said coldly, throwing her a bag, which Erin just stared at.

"I broke his heart for this?" she said softly, looking up at Jeanea with tears in her eyes.

"God…you really have it bad for him, don't you? Whatever…it's your life, not mine."

She quickly exited the room, leaving Erin sobbing on her bed.

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Cedric stared down at his cereal bowl, stirring emptily as he seriously considered sticking his face in the leftover milk and drowning himself in it.

He couldn't believe her. There he was pouring out his heart and soul because he couldn't hold it back anymore…and he found out that she had been fooling around with Harry Potter!

As if her sleeping with another man wasn't bad enough, she had gone and done it with a 2nd year, not to mention the famous 'boy who lived'.

"Hi," a male voice said from beside him. He looked up to find Erin's nerdy friend, Earl, standing there, looking more than nervous.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"I thought you should know something."

"…Know what?"

"Erin was only with you because a bet that everyone made."

"Wh--what?"

Earl sat down and started to explain everything to Cedric, who got angrier and angrier by each passing second, realizing that he had been used the whole time they had been together.

Cedric stood up, running a hand through his hair in frustration as Earl stood up also and said: "I thought you should know…"

Erin chose that moment to walk into the room, just in time to hear Cedric reply to Earl.

He glanced over; his eyes widening at first as in disbelief that she were actually there, and from the hurt that rose to the surface of his mind again.

"Hey Earl, see Erin over there?" he said, loudly enough so that most of the Great Hall could hear him. "She slept with me for money…used me as a cheap whore. Oh, and not to mention that she lost her VIRGINITY to some dirty Muggle and slept with Harry Potter as a cheap excuse to dump me!"

"That was really unnecessary…" Earl said nervously as Erin came storming over, tears fresh in her eyes, which hadn't been dry since the evening before.

"How could you? I told you that in confidence!" Erin cried, walking up to where Cedric stood. "And Earl! I thought you were my friend! Get the fuck out of my face!"

She let out a sob as everyone in the Great Hall glared at her, hearing every word that Cedric had just said.

Cedric merely glared along with them and she pursed her lips before running out of the Great Hall and into the hallways, which fell silent as soon as she walked through them.

She attempted to glare at the gaping students, or chew them out for staring at her, but found that she couldn't.

"Hey, Mykal. I heard you like making bets…how about making one with me," an older Ravenclaw said, making inappropriate gestures towards her, which she simply ignored.

She finally escaped everyone and fell back against the nearest wall, tears pouring out of her eyes as she realized how fucked up her life was.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"She needs to stop her moping. It's pissing me off, not to mention making me depressed, too," Samaire said, staring at Erin as she lay on the couch a week later.

"Shut up, can't you see she is sad?" Rina asked her, glaring over, "we her friends, we should fix this."

"What could we do?" Jeanea asked. She had since gotten over the whole fact that Erin had fallen in love with one of the enemies, coming to accept that this was her best friend, and she was happiest in that time she was with Cedric.

She couldn't take that happiness away from her, and she was going to try anything to get it back to her.

"She needs to get laid," Samaire perked up.

"Yes! I know someone who is perfect! It may not be Cedric…but he could help her, I suppose," Jeanea replied before walking forward and sitting down besides Erin.

"Erin, we have decided – we being myself, Samaire and Rina – that you're going out on a date, with a man of our choosing. Don't protest, it's really the best thing for you…I hate seeing you all pitiful like this," she said.

"I'm really not in the mood to go out with some jerk," Erin replied bitterly.

"Listen. You need to get laid. We're taking care of that. I hate seeing you moping on your ass all day. You need to step up before your rep is ruined even more than that jackass ruined it!" Samaire snapped, leaving Erin slightly wide eyed before she nodded in agreement, resting her head back on the couch.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Dear Diary,_

_I agreed to go out with some random guy today. The girls are trying to make me feel better, but I don't know if I want to move on at all, I don't know if I can._

_I suppose that it's my fault this all happened. I could have canceled the bet and never slept with Harry, and I could still be with Cedric, who was just so…perfect._

_But no._

_I had to fuck it up as usual._

_I'm really not in the mood to write much, so I'm leaving now, the date's tomorrow and they won't tell me who it's with…I just hope it's not a Hufflepuff._

_- Erin_


	13. Chapter 13

**Big A/N: **I don't really know why I'm thinking of this, but does anybody watch America's Next Top Model? Doesn't it rule? I think so.

_I wanna fuck a dog  
I tried to fuck your mom in the ass  
Tried to fuck your dad in the ass  
could only find the dog...and his ass_

Uh-oh! Wrong song! That doesn't set the mood. This song does, though.

_Where are you, and I'm so sorry  
I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight  
I need somebody and always  
This sick strange darkness  
Comes creeping on so haunting every time  
And as I stared I counted  
Webs from all the spiders  
Catching things and eating their insides  
Like indecision to call you  
and hear your voice of treason  
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight  
Stop this pain tonight_

Don't waste your time on me you're already  
The voice inside my head (I miss you, I miss you)  
Don't waste your time on me you're already   
The voice inside my head (I miss you, I miss you)

-blink-182; I miss you

**Strange and Beautiful.**

Chapter 13

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this."

Jeanea, Samaire and Rina were leading Erin toward one of the carriages that were taking her to Hogsmeade.

"His name is Adam Valentine," Erin whined.

"Exactly!" Samaire said.

"Maybe he'll sweep you off your feet," Rina continued.

"He plays Quidditch, he's kind, he's not a womanizer, he's cute, and he's really excited to go on this date with you!"

"He's excited because he knows that I'm an easy bang," Erin said.

"But you're not!" Samaire argued.

"Not according to the rest of the school!"

"Stop being pessimistic," Jeanea said, irritation in her voice. "Just go have fun. We're sick of your whiny ass."

Erin walked into the carriage and slumped into the seat opposite Adam.

"Hey," he said, holding out his hand in a friendly way.

Erin paused before returning the friendly gesture. Adam was tall, dark, and handsome, to put it simply. He had a bright smile that he was flashing at Erin.

"I'm Erin," she said hesitantly, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Tell me a bit about yourself," he said. "You seem intriguing."

Erin smiled at him lightly before finding herself telling him things that she didn't expect to tell him at all.

- - -

"Where do you want to go?" Adam asked, once they had reached Hogsmeade.

"I don't care," she said, moodily. Though she had felt better talking to him on the carriage, he still had an odd coldness towards her. He was friendly on the outside, but he always looked away when she talked.

"Let's go to Madam Puddifoots, then. It's nice and quiet in there."

Erin nodded and Adam led her by the waist to a small tea shop near the end of the street.

"This is...nice..." Erin said skeptically, looking around the room. It was, quite obviously, decorated for Christmas, but in a romantic way. There was pink everywhere and lots of gold shimmery things that attracted the small-minded. Erin rolled her eyes as Adam led her to a table with pink chairs and a candle.

"Romantic?" he asked, flashing her a false smile.

"Whatever..." she muttered under her breath.

Adam picked up a menu and began skimming through it.

"The tea's great here," he said, flipping a page idly.

Erin picked up a menu and pretended to be interested, though she felt indifferent about eating.

"My old girlfriend loved this place," Adam said. "We used to come here all the time."

"That's nice," Erin said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Who was she?"

"Natalie Spinnet," he said. "She's a sixth-year in Hufflepuff; she's related to Alicia Spinnet, the one Gryffindor chaser."

A waitress dressed in a short black dress and red pumps came to their table. "Free water, dears," she said.

"Thanks," Erin replied, waving the waitress off. "Can't think of her," she said to Adam.

"She's the only person I've ever really dated before," he said, gazing off longingly into the distance. "Who've you dated before?"

Erin swallowed hard and stared into her water, averting Adam's gaze.

"Oh, right!" he said, laughing lightly. "You dated Cedric! I can't believe what he said about you, they're total lies, right? He's such a loser. He's nothing but a pretty boy; Natalie said he's not even that smart. Man, to give up you, he had to be a huge loser..."

Erin couldn't take it anymore. She stood up quickly and, grabbing the side of the table, threw it on its side.

She leaned in close to Adam and whispered, "Don't ever say anything bad about Cedric."

She then stomped out of the small tea shop, leaving all its inhabitants whispering among each other.

- - -

"Ced, what is up with you? You've been staring at the fire all day," Martin said, taking a seat beside him. "Man, it's like you're depressed about that cow or something. It's Hogsmeade, dude, go out and have fun, for once."

"Don't call her a cow," he said, shooting an evil look at Martin.

"Listen," Martin said, placing his hand on Cedric's shoulder. "I've got this chick that would be perfect to make you feel better. She's very lighthearted, fun, and a good bang..."

"MARTIN!" Cedric said, clearly agitated. "That's the opposite of what I need right now!"

"Sure it is..." Martin said, rolling his eyes. "I'll get her to meet you in the Entrance Hall in half an hour. Be there, dude, or be a fucking square."

"Whatever," Cedric mumbled, staring at his feet. After Martin left, Cedric went upstairs to take a quick shower before he went out.

- - -

Cedric walked into the Entrance Hall later, in torn-up jeans and a dark blue t-shirt underneath a black sweater.

"Are you Cedric?"

Cedric closed his eyes and cringed at the voice. It was high-pitched and gave him a headache within the first three words. He spun around, a false smile on his face.

"Yeah, I am."

He wanted to run away at the sight of the girl. She was about three feet tall, wearing a poofy pink dress with a matching pink bow atop her perfect blonde curls. She was the complete opposite of Erin.

"I'm Samantha Bradshaw!"

She stood on her toes to throw her arms around Cedric. Cedric patted her back politely.

"Nice to meet you..." he muttered.

"Ok, let's get in the carriages!"

The two walked into the nearest carriage, Cedric cringing once again as she sat beside him, her legs crossed perfectly.

"So, this morning I woke up, and I saw Martin, and I was like, Martin! Oh, he looks so cute with his hair messy in the morning. So anyway, I was like, Martin! It's Hogsmeade today! Let's go together! But he was like not today, because I'm going with a Gryffindor so I'm like that's so cute Martin! Have any friends for me? And he kinda thought, and then he thought some more, so I guess I was just lucky enough to end up with you!"

Cedric nodded politely as she let out a girlish laugh.

"So, this morning, I was eating breakfast, but like I'm a on diet because I'm beginning to get a bit of a tummy, so my friend offers me waffles and I'm like no, Fran, no waffles, I'm on a diet! And she's like why are you on a diet? You're so perfect! And I just laughed, and said I know, but I want to be even more perfect!"

Cedric coughed lightly to the side, trying to prevent himself from gagging.

- - -

"So, it was so funny, because like this one time, at band camp, I was roasting marshmallows, and my friend reminds me how fattening they are, and I was like oh my god fat and I threw the marshmallow on her accidentally! She got third degree burns because it was on fire but it was funny because that was when I realized how fat I was; I mean, come on, I'm fat enough to like, hit my friend with a marshmallow, so I'm pretty fat, right? So anyway, she got so mad at me, but I'm like, I love you, and she forgave me, because everybody loves me!"

"_I don't love you..."_ Cedric thought.

The two were currently in Honeyduke's, and the entire hour before that Samantha hadn't shut up. Cedric hadn't gotten two words in the entire trip.

"So then, me and my friend, at band camp, we were so bored, so we got all rebellious and we skipped one practice! I left my flute under my sheets so the conductor would think I got lost or something. Oh my god, have you ever heard a flute? It's so fantastic! I think I should play my flute for you! Isn't that a great idea? I was considered the second next flute player in the band, out of like 20, and the best flute player was like, a total bitch, and a total overachiever! I mean she spent so much time on school she didn't even keep her nails maintained! I was like, can I please do your nails, they bother me so much, there was this huge chip in her left pinky nail! It was this ugly pink polish too, I think it was supposed to be hot pink, but it was just ick. Don't you love the color pink? I mean, baby pink, not icky hot pink."

Cedric stared at her, his mouth wide open. She had just said the entire paragraph without taking a breath and he hadn't taken any of it in. There had to be something right about this girl that made Martin suggest her...

"Do you like Pink Floyd?" he asked quickly.

"What's Pink Floyd?" she asked, raising her eyebrow. When she raised her eyebrow, it made her look like a pug dog. "Is it a candy? Because I love candy! Except, because of my diet, I can't eat it much. Oh, it must be candy floss, because floss sounds like Floyd, so is it like...a magical floss? That would be so cool! Like a good tasting pink floss! Ok, let's buy some, this sounds so awesome!"

Cedric smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Never mind," he muttered, before leaving Honeyduke's in frustration.

"Where are you going? I haven't told you about my stories at art camp!"

- - -

Erin stamped down the road, steam nearly coming out of her ears in anger.

"_The nerve," _she thought, her shoulder muscles tensing up. _"The nerve of him! Making fun of Cedric! He doesn't even know Cedric!"_

She rubbed her eyes hard with her knuckles. _"Great...now everyone will know that I stood up for Cedric. Perfect. Make even more whispers about me. Not like..."_

Erin's trail of thought was cut off as she smacked into something hard, sending her flying backwards.

"What the fuck, jackass?" she screamed, letting out some of her pent up anger.

"Sorry."

Erin looked up, fear in her eyes at the familiarity of the voice. The fear in her eyes immediately turned to anger as she shot Cedric a dirty look for bumping into her so rudely and jumped up off the ground.

"Piss off," she muttered, before shoving past him and walking briskly down the street.

- - -


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**: If you haven't seen Rent, go out and RENT IT! Hehe…lol

**Chapter 14**

"What's the point of school? All it does it give me a headache," Erin mumbled, sitting down at their usual bench in the lot and pulling her wool coat closer to her body.

"Well, just be glad that today we get to get away from all of it, have some fun, you know," Jeanea said, her face rosy as she stood up, walking over to Adrian Pucey, her date.

Erin knew that Jeanea was excited about this; they were all going on a trip to the Ministry that everyone had signed up for the previous week; it had been all that she had talked about for the past day or two. There was that, and the fact that Jeanea got a glimmer in her eye whenever she saw Adrian in the hallway.

It almost made Erin sick on one part, yet on another part, she was so happy that her friend had found someone that she truly, deeply cared about.

She once had that with Cedric…too bad she had gone and fucked it up, otherwise they would've probably still been together.

She pulled her hat over her ears a little bit more as a cold gust blew through the courtyard.

She shivered, looking over to where everyone was slowly piling outside, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head as she saw Earl walking through the doors and straight towards her. Except it wasn't the same Earl whom she had helped that day on the train, the same Earl she had known the past 5 years; this Earl was….actually cool!

It was a shame he had to go trip and fall flat on his face about 10 feet away from her.

"Uhm…Earl?" she asked timidly as he quickly jumped up and brushed the snow off of his coat.

He had completely…completely transformed. No more bulky glasses, no more gelled down hair, no more suspenders, no more high-water, that was all gone.

Now, there was short, spiked up hair on his head, a leather jacket and baggy jeans with a belt, and even a pair of combat boots to finish up the outfit.

"Erin," he said, panting for whatever reason, before getting down on one knee and looking up at her through slightly squinted eyes, "I love you! Marry me!"

Erin coughed loudly as people started to stare at the scene before pulling him up off of the ground by his collar. "Knock it off Earl! No, I will not marry you, you know that I don't feel that way about you! You're my friend Earl, and keep this shit up and you won't even be that!" she exclaimed quietly as Dewey walked outside in his drag outfit.

Earl's shoulders slumped slightly and Erin sighed before leaning over and whispering something in Earl's ear and pushing him off in Dewey's direction. A smirk formed on Erin's face as she saw Dewey eyeing him hungrily before pulling him out of the courtyard and back into the school.

She turned around, blushing a little bit as she saw both couples – Rina and Benny and Jeanea and Adrian – making out on a bench just a little bit away from her.

A small sigh of relief escaped her lips as she saw Samaire approaching her, glad that she didn't have to look stupid and alone now.

"You looking forward to this trip?" she asked.

"Fuck no. I only signed up so that I wouldn't have to stay here all day while you guys were out."

"I see what you mean. Well c'mon, the teachers are calling us."

They quickly walked up to Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout, and their names were called checked off the long list. They then proceeded to go to a Portkey, which took them to the Ministry moments later.

They were quickly split into groups of 20, Erin groaning when she heard her name being called to be in the same group as Cedric – who she had no clue was going. If she had known, she wouldn't have even signed up for the trip.

To her absolute utter dismay, none of her friends were in her group, leaving her alone in a group of Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Cedric.

She spent most of the tour sulking, her arms across her chest as she begrudgingly followed the group of girls, constantly flirting with Cedric (who seemed to thoroughly entire the attention, the whore).

Finally, after 2 hours of excruciating pain on Erin's part, their guide dismissed them and she immediately headed for the elevator so she could get to the lobby, get back to her friends, and get away from Cedric.

Unfortunately for her, though, he happened to jump in the elevator just as the doors were about to close, leaving Erin like a ticking bomb just waiting to explode.

She reached out and practically punched the number 1 – for ground level – and the elevator started to rise, too slowly for Erin's taste.

An awkward silence filled the elevator and more than once she caught Cedric glancing over at her, opening and closing his mouth like a fish over water as if he was going to talk to her, though he never gathered up the courage to do so.

Right before the elevator got to the 3rd floor, it stopped abruptly, causing all of the power went off and leaving them in pitch black.

Screaming louder than she ever had in her life, she flung herself helplessly into Cedric's arms as the darkness engulfed them.

All that could be heard was their shallow breathing. It was at this point when Erin realized how close she was to Cedric. She wormed her way out of his arms embarrassingly and slowly walked to the opposite side of the elevator, sliding down on the wall and sticking her head between her legs, trying not to get claustrophobic as the elevator shook back and forth.

"Are you alright?" Cedric asked a moment later, the tip of his wand ignited.

"Just…just a little bit on the claustrophobic side," she said slowly, her head still between her legs and her eyes tightly shut.

"It'll be alright Erin, they'll get us out of here in a heartbeat," Cedric said reassuringly, helping her to her feet as, like he said, everything suddenly turned back on, and they started ascending once more.

"Thanks," she replied quietly, glancing down at the ground before looking over at him to find he was looking right back at her.

Whether it was adrenaline from a few seconds ago at the fact she might die or just her taking advantage of the situation, Erin suddenly walked over to Cedric, pressing him back again the wall before kissing him intensely, a mixture of moans filling the air as they both groped each other as the passion rose.

The dinging of the elevator brought Cedric back to reality as he pushed her off of him, shaking his head. "God I can't believe I just did that!" he groaned, stuffing his face in his hands before storming out of the elevator, leaving Erin in a state of confusion and hurt as she slowly walked out of the now empty elevator, approaching her friends as they appeared in the Ministry's Lobby and giving them a weak smile.

"What is it Erin?" Jeanea asked, her arm wrapped securely around Adrian.

"Nothing…just PMS," she replied simply before heading over to the Portkey and letting out a deep sigh. She then grabbed the Portkey and it transported her back to school; back to reality.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **I agree, Darcy. Go rent Rent. Now, bitches.

_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now _

_And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life  
'Cause sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight _

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am_

-Goo Goo Dolls; Iris (listen to this song. It rocks hardcore)

**Strange and Beautiful.**

Chapter 15

8 months later

"Martin, are you sure about this?"

"Come on Cedric, don't be a pussy. We took the aging potion two hours ago, it will have set in by now."

Cedric looked up at the florescent sign that was blazing the word "Juggz" into the darkness of the back streets in Hogsmeade. The building which housed the sign was small and dingy, looking as if it was abandoned spare the sign.

Martin reached out and pulled the rotting door open. A short hallway was revealed with a single goblin standing in front of the door at the end.

"How old are you?" the goblin grunted, thrusting a stick that was in his hand towards Martin's chest.

"18," Martin said proudly.

The goblin reached over and opened the door.

"Step over the age line," he grunted, eyeing Cedric and Martin.

_This is it,_ Cedric thought. _Now we're going to get sent to Azkaban or something._

Before Cedric could continue his train of thought he felt Martin's hands touch his back and shove him over the age line. Cedric gave a sigh of relief when nothing 'evil' happened, and he continued into the strip club.

There was a techno song playing to set the upbeat mood. It was a larger place than it appeared from the outside, with an array of small tables and bars on either side. The main attraction was, of course, the several lovely ladies who were pole dancing in front of Martin and Cedric.

"Look, dude, there's a seat right in the front!" Martin said excitedly, pointing at a table in front of a blonde stripper. Martin practically skipped to the table.

A raven-haired waitress Apparated beside the boys. "Drinks?" she asked, her voice velvety.

"Make it two," Martin said, flashing her a cheesy smile. The waitress returned the smile as she placed two bright green drinks in front them before Disapparating.

"I like it here," Martin said, downing the shot. Cedric copied him.

Having the drink was unlike anything he had ever tried. It was cool as it slid down his throat, yet it made his whole body feel warmer than before. Everything began to slide out of focus until Martin cut in.

"Dude, this stuff's amazing!"

Cedric shook his head to try and clear himself, but he felt as if he had taken a shot of liquid courage.

"Two more shots to this table!" he called to the bar.

The waitress Apparated beside them once again and Cedric and Martin both took an extra shot.

"Watch the stripper," Martin said, slurring his words. "Look how she moves."

Cedric smiled lightly as he watched her hips. They swayed very freely and in motion to the music. He couldn't see her face behind a sheet of shoulder-length platinum blonde hair but he could see that she had the body of a goddess. She was wearing very little; just a tiny black bra, panties and...

"Combat boots," Cedric muttered. His eyes widened in horror.

It was Erin.

- - -

"Martin, come on, we're..."

Cedric let out a sigh when he saw that Martin had relocated himself to the bar, where he was freely flirting with the raven-haired waitress.

Cedric looked up at Erin, desperation etched into his face. "Erin? What are you doing here? Let's get out of here, you shouldn't be here."

She bent forwards so that her cleavage was very close to Cedric's face. As she spoke, Cedric smelled alcohol mixed with pot emitting strongly from her breath.

"I'm not allowed to talk to customers," she cooed. "Unless you're willing to pay extra..."

"No I'm not!" Cedric snapped. "It's me, Cedric. Come on, Erin, let's get out of here. I'm sorry, I really..."

"Not allowed to talk without money," she slurred.

Cedric took a deep breath; he knew he had to do something rash. He reached forward, grabbed Erin by the knees, swung her over his shoulder like a rag doll and began to sprint out of the club.

He heard angry voices follow him as he ran down the corridor and out the door. He was glad that, from all his Quidditch training from the previous year, he had become quite the fair runner. He kept running until the voices died down. At this point, he stopped and fell to the ground, raising his wand arm.

He placed Erin - who had passed out - beside him and waited for the Knight Bus.

"What have you done?" he said softly, running his hand along her pretty face.

- - -

Cedric placed Erin gently down on his bed. He gave a sigh of relief to see that the platinum blonde bob that she was sporting was only a wig, and he took it gently off her head.

He could see that she had changed very little since he had last seen her. She had lost weight, causing her face to look more gaunt yet defined. With a little more meat on her bones, she could return to being the same old Erin.

He gave a light smile as he brushed a hair out of her face.

"Good night," he muttered, pulling the blankets up closer to her face. "Sweet dreams."

- - -

"You are not Ced-ick!"

Erin let out a groan when she felt a squash finger poke her cheek. Her head was throbbing.

"Ced-ick has no make-up!"

"Natalie! How many times do I have to tell you not to poke the visitors?"

Erin's eyes fluttered open as she felt someone sit beside her on the bed.

"Good morning sleepy head."

"Cedric!"

Erin pulled the covers up over herself.

"What are you doing here?"

Cedric, who was holding a small child that Erin assumed had been poking her earlier, stood up.

"You were at the strip club last night," he explained. "You were drunk out of your mind. Merlin knows what you were doing there, but it wasn't good. I brought you here; I thought it would be safer."

"Why do you care what I'm doing at a strip club?" Erin snapped, standing up and holding the blankets over herself.

"Of course I care!" Cedric snapped back. "That's a bad place to be!"

"What's a sti-rip club?" the small girl asked.

"Natalie, go downstairs," Cedric said to her, putting her down and pushing her out the door.

"You can't control my life!" Erin shouted. "You barely even know me."

"I wouldn't let even your stupid friend Samaire stay at that strip club!"

Erin's eyes dimmed. "Don't diss my friends," she snapped. "And leave me alone."

She exited through the door, slamming it on her way out.

- - -

Cedric slumped onto his bed, feeling dejected. He gave a slight smile at the thought of how sexy she was when she was angry.

And how sexy she looked when she was thinking evil thoughts.

Or when she was happy.

Or when she was sad.

Or when she was surprised.

Especially when she had those handcuffs...

His breathing became shallower as he felt his erection pressing onto the inside of his pajamas.

He slid his hand underneath the brim of his pants and began to stroke his hard cock, imagining Erin when she was naked.

His breathing became heavier as he imagined her in that tiny little outfit she was wearing at the strip club. He closed his eyes as he sped up the pace of his stroking.

Erin naked, so perfect...

His breathing became shorter as he came closer to coming...

"Cedric? I just...MERLIN'S BEARD!"

Cedric jumped and flew under the covers.

"Dad?" he muttered quietly, his face turning a bright shade of red.

"Son, I..."

"Why didn't you knock?" Cedric whispered.

Cedric's father sighed and sat on the bed. "It's hard to believe you're old enough to be doing that. I remember when you were my little boy, but now, you think about sex."

"Dad, really, it's not a big deal..." Cedric stammered.

"It's natural really. Those feelings. Don't forget to use protection, son. If you contract any infections or diseases, the discharge is really unpleasant. Oh, of course, this risk can be even more increased with anal intercourse. It's really not that pleasurable, I'd say that you should just stay with vaginal intercourse; are you getting all this, son?"

Cedric smacked his forehead and prepared himself for the 'birds and the bees' speech.

- - -


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**: Hidey-Ho! Hope you liked Danni's last chapter, you probably did because she writes AMAZING, anyways, hope you like this one too, and as always, reviews I love you!

_These words are my own  
From my heart flow  
I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you  
There's no other way  
To better say  
I love you, I love you..._

-Natasha Bedingfield; These Words

**Chapter 16**

"Get out of my way you idiot!" Erin exclaimed, pushing a little kid to the ground as she made her way off of the Hogwarts Express, in more of a grumpy mood than ever. She muttered, "Fucking first years need to watch where they're going."

"Who shoved a stick up your ass?" Jeanea asked her, jumping off of the train behind her as they made their way to the horseless carriages.

"Bad summer, end of story."

"I'm your best friend, Erin, you can tell me, you know."

"Don't push it Jeanea, I'm really not in the mood."

She didn't feel like talking about what had happened at the end of the summer, when Cedric had come and taken her away from the strip club.

None of her friends even knew that she had worked there over the summer, and that was how she planned to keep it.

Throughout the whole carriage ride she stared out the window moodily, not knowing exactly why she was in such a bad mood.

She supposed that she was in such a bad mood mainly because of what had happened with Cedric.

When she woke up in his house that morning a few weeks ago, gazing up at Cedric's face which was illuminated with the bright eastern sun, she had felt something inside of her that she had tried not to feel all summer. The feeling made her angry, especially after what had happened in the elevator so long ago.

All she knew was that every man who had received one of her vigorous lap dances while she was a stripper was Cedric in one way or another; otherwise, she couldn't bring herself to do it, she felt like she was betraying him every time she even laid eyes on a man.

…Obviously he didn't feel the same way.

Later that night, after the sorting ceremony, she got up from her seat, laughing at something that Jeanea had said in an attempt to get Erin to act like herself again, and she happened to glance over to the Hufflepuff table, where Cedric stood very…very close to a Ravenclaw girl, laughing with her as her hand rested affectionately on his arm.

She immediately frowned, her eyes focusing on the ground as she stormed out of the great hall, pushing over Percy Weasley on her way out.

She clenched her fists as the tears poured down her face, walking quickly down the stairs, yelling at one of the portraits as they said to another what an odd child she was.

"Expecto Patronum," she muttered to the tapestry guarding the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

It slowly swung open and she hurried inside and up to her dorm, locking it before going over to her bed and slowly lying down, finally letting her emotions get the better of her.

Tears poured from her eyes as she cried, her pillow quickly becoming wet as the tears rolled down her face.

She missed him…she missed that son of a bitch and it was killing her on the inside, knowing that she was the reason they weren't together.

Her tears eventually subsided and she sniffed, getting up from her bed and walking over to the loose floorboard in the corner of the room, fetching her diary from it and sitting down.

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, my life is pretty much fucked up right now._

_Cedric was flirting with some Ravenclaw whore in the Great Hall during the feast today and it near killed me._

_I probably shouldn't be feeling all of these things, but I can't help it._

_Jeanea and Samaire tell me I need to move on permanently, get a new boyfriend, except they don't know that I'm so moody because I loved Cedric. They think that I'm so moody because I was embarrassed in front of half of Hogwarts._

_That shows how much I really tell them anymore._

_I wish we could all go back to first year. First year was nice; Dewey wasn't drag, Jeanea didn't have someone more important than me – her best friend – in her life, Earl wasn't gay, Benny and Rina weren't dating…we were all just friends._

…_And I didn't get this feeling inside of me every time I looked at Cedric, or any boy for that matter._

_But I can't turn back time, I don't think anyone would be insane enough to give me a time turner, so now, I'm stuck in the present…_

_I'll just have to make the most out of it._

_-Erin_

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You make me laugh so much!" Erin cried, flirting shamelessly with Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain, and one of Cedric's worst enemies due to that fact.

She had no interest at all in him – his head was too big, his ears stuck out, and he had a funny laugh – but she wanted some sort of revenge after what had happened with Cedric. She knew for a fact that he was watching, glancing over at him every now and again with a smirk on her face.

"So, I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade with me next time we go," Oliver asked, folding his arms across his chest to make it look bigger, or more masculine, or something.

"I'll have to think about that," she replied thoughtfully, knowing that one way or another she'd find an excuse to say no, "But thank you…I have to get going, so I'll see you later."

Cedric frowned softly as he witnessed the shameless flirting, glancing at his food and suddenly losing his appetite.

She had seen him flirting with that Ravenclaw girl yesterday; she must of, because he knew she would never flirt that openly, especially with a Gryffindor.

He looked up a few moments later as some girls walked passed him, giggling as they said 'hi'.

Seeing that Erin wasn't in the Great Hall anymore he stood up, walking out quickly and making his way to the Hufflepuff dorms, wanting to be alone.

Once in his room he opened the window, letting the cool September breeze fill the stuffy room before lying on his bed and taking a deep breath.

"…How I wish…how I wish you were here," he sang softly. Their song…his and Erin's song…floating through his head as he looked out towards the lake, which he had a perfect view of from his bed.

"We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year!"

He jumped slightly as he heard a female voice sing from outside his window, startling him at first until he realized who it was. He ran over to the sill as fast as his feet would carry him.

"Erin? How…I'm on the 5th floor!" Cedric exclaimed, seeing her hover outside his window. She gave him a small smile before pointing to the broom she was on.

"I stole it from the locker room," she said, "I…well as much as this hurts me to say…I came to apologize Cedric…I want you back."

He bit his lip as he let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the window frame, "How do I know something like what happened before won't happen again? How do I know that this right now isn't a bet?" he questioned her.

"Trust me…I learned my lesson…After we broke up…I realized that I made the stupidest fucking decision of my life, I'm just sad that I realized it a day too late."

"Do your friends know about this?"

"No, I haven't told them, and I'm not going to. Please Cedric…I…I…"

"You, you what?"

"I love you."

Cedric blinked a few times, gazing into her eyes and realizing that she wasn't lying.

As if she was reading his mind she spoke up, "I'm done with lying to you Cedric…I want us to be for real now. When we together I was the happiest that I think I have ever been in my life, I liked that feeling, I want it back."

"You really know how to make a man melt, don't you?" he asked, chuckling, "There's no third chances though…you screw up this time, we're over."

"I understand completely…now…can I kiss you? I have to get back before they worry; they being my friends."

The tiniest smile formed on his face and he nodded, leaning out of the window and placing his lips gently on hers, savoring the feeling before kissing her tenderly, his hand on her cheek.

"Yummy," she whispered a moment later, "I'll see you tomorrow Cedric…thank you."

"No, thank you. Even though you hurt me back then…I was still head over heels in love with you. Goodnight," he said, kissing her once more, with a little more passion, before she flew off into the night, a happy woman once again.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: **I think that you guys should all go out and read the book White Oleander. Il est tres bon!

_Let me know that I've done wrong  
When I've known this all along  
I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you_

Tell me all that you've thrown away  
Find out games you don't wanna play  
You are the only one that needs to know

I'll keep you my dirty little secret  
(Dirty little secret)  
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret  
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it)  
My dirty little secret

Who has to know  
When we live such fragile lives  
It's the best way we survive  
I go around a time or two  
Just to waste my time with you

-The All-American Rejects; Dirty Little Secret

**Strange and Beautiful.**

Chapter 17

_Erin's rules._

_1. Never lie. That's just fucking shitty._

_2. Never love. The only place loving has ever landed anyone was the psych ward._

_3. Never abandon your friends. Like fuck, they're your friends._

_4. Never get attached to anything. The thing will always turn your back on you...unless it's music. That's another case._

_5. Never be a suck-up. Fuck, I hate suck-ups._

_6. Don't whine. Nobody likes a fucking whiner. They're just goddamn pussies._

_7. Don't be a fake. I hate fakes. They're the biggest liars and most insecure little shits of them all._

_8. Don't fall for a prep. Well, yeah, don't fall for anyone, but especially not preps. They're the biggest liars, lovers, friend abandoners, get-attached-to-shit-ers, suck-ups, whiners, and fakes of them all. They are the fucking enemy._

A smile flickered at the corner of Erin's mouth as she watchedCedric read her rule list.

"You know I'm breaking every single one of my rules, right?"

"Not all of them," said Cedric, smiling, "you're not being a whiner, suck-up, or a fake."

"I made this the day before I went to Hogwarts," she explained. "You know what you're doing to me, right? You're making me disown the fucking rule list. It's like God."

"So I'm better than God?"

"I never said that!"

"Am I better than God in bed?"

"I haven't slept with God, how am I supposed to know?"

"You've slept with everyone else, I thought you would..."

Erin smacked him hard on the arm, but with a soft smile on her face. The two of them were lying in his bed, relaxing and enjoying some time alone. It was around supper, and the two of them had skipped it to spend valuable time together.

"On a more serious note," he said, running his finger along her arm, "I think we should talk about your summer."

"It's no big deal, really..."

"You were so drunk you couldn't walk and you were stripping for a bunch of horny forty year olds!"

"...and you," she said seductively, inching closer to him.

"That's not the point!" he stammered, pushing her away. "What were you doing there?"

Erin let out a soft sigh. "I got kicked out of my house by my dad. I needed a job, and no one else would hire me. I went to Juggz and they had an opening. Free alcohol and decent pay. I rented a place above the Hog's Head so I could sleep there in the day and then work at night. Happy?"

Cedric blinked hard to take it all in.

"Just one thing I want to know."

"What?" Erin groaned.

"Did you sleep with any of them?"

"I couldn't," Erin said, swallowing hard. "Every time I was with one of them, I thought of you, and I just couldn't."

Cedric swallowed hard. "Really?" Erin nodded slowly in reply. "I couldn't get you off my mind, either. Not only was I scared when I picked you up there, but I was happy. Happy to see my perfect Erin."

He reached over and kissed her softly, and was surprised to see tears rolling down her face softly.

"You're crying," he muttered.

"No one's ever said anything that nice to me," she said. "All the guys I've been with just have me for a good fuck or whatever. I'm nothing. Just another notch in their bedpost."

"This world's an ugly place, but you're so beautiful to me."

Erin swallowed back more tears as she sat up and straddled him. For the first time in her life, she truly made love.

- - -

Erin walked over to the bench outside where her group usually hung out, a little extra spring in her step.

"Where the fuck were you last night?" Samaire snapped when Erin sat down next to her.

"Busy," she said dreamily, lighting up a cigarette with a smile on her face.

"What's up with you?" Dewey (or Clover, as he has everyone call him) said, as he snaked his arm around Earl's waist.

"First you were super-bitch to us on the train – " Earl continued.

" – and now you're flying high in the sky – "

" – and lying to us."

"Earl, Dew – I mean, Clover – there's nothing wrong with me. I'm just in a good mood," Erin said, gazing off at Hogwarts.

"Whatever," said Jeanea, "but there's something up, and we're gonna find out."

- - -

Erin quietly tip-toed into the Hufflepuff locker room after Cedric's second Quidditch practice of the season. Her face lit up when she saw him scuttling around the locker room, wasting time until she showed up.

"Hey Erin," he said, a broad smile on his face when he saw her. He noticed that she had a backpack on, which was very unusual for Erin.

"I'm here to make a bargain with you," she said, smiling slyly.

"What's that?" he asked, approaching her and sliding his hand around her waist.

"You promise not to tell anyone about us," she said, "and I'll let you know what's in this bag."

Cedric let out a deep sigh and furrowed his brows. "You have me curious now," he said. "Why don't you want anyone to know?"

"Mostly, I just don't want my friends to know," she said. "They'd completely disown me from the group."

"They're not very good friends, then, are they?"

"What have I told you about dissing my friends?" Erin snapped, pulling away from Cedric.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "Your wish is my command; I won't tell anyone."

She smiled. "Good. Now for your side of the bargain. Close your eyes."

Cedric closed his eyes tightly, waiting patiently for Erin's surprise. He felt himself getting hard at the mere possibilities.

"Open."

Cedric felt his hard-on growing quickly as he saw his surprise. Erin was standing before him, in a barely-there maid's outfit. The skirt was so short he knew she couldn't move without revealing anything and it was the same situation with the top portion of the dress. She was holding a plate out in front of her with a can of whipped cream perched on top of it.

He licked his lips as she put the plate down softly and threw Cedric on to the nearest bench. She pulled her pair of fuzzy black handcuffs from a pocket in the dress and tied him up to a pole jutting out of the bench. She then tied his feet to the bench to keep him secure.

Cedric let out a shiver as she put whipped cream all over his hard cock and began to lick it all off. Cedric couldn't help but give out a few cries of arousement before he came into her mouth.

"You see," she whispered into his ear before nibbling at it, "I've always wanted to try role playing."

"Me too," he gasped, breathing heavy after her amazing blow job.

"We'll do some more tomorrow."

Erin stood up and threw her robes on quickly over her maid outfit. She headed for the door.

"Erin? Where are you going?" Cedric called.

"See you tomorrow."

Erin winked at him before exiting the change room, leaving Cedric tied down to the bench, stark-naked.

- - -


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**: Brooke got voted off Top Model! Makes me very sad, lol, hope you like the chapter anyways.

**Other A/N: **Sorry about this taking so long...we author's have had trouble updating (not blaming it on myself or Darcy) so I apologize.

**Chapter 18**

The sound of footsteps rang through the hallway and snapped Cedric out of his sleep.

"Shit!"

He desperately tried to get out of the handcuffs as they got closer and closer, and as they got closer, he realized that he heard two sets of voices. He did not want anyone to find him completely naked and handcuffed to a bench.

"Fuck!" he muttered.

He didn't want anyone to even find him handcuffed to a bench with clothes on. He just hoped that it was someone who wouldn't ruin his life.

The door to the locker room opened and he closed his eyes tight, thinking maybe if he couldn't see them, they couldn't see him…too bad it didn't work.

"Look Earl, my sweet, it's the handsome rich bitch, Erin's reject," Dewey -- or Clover -- said, walking in wearing a go-go dress and a blonde wig.

"He's handcuffed to the bench –" Earl continued.

"– Looks like Mr. Diggory has been having fun –"

"– Maybe we should join in on the fun –"

"– I'm extremely horny right now."

Dewey grinned over to Cedric, who couldn't possibly be any redder in the face as Dewey went over to Earl, grinning before pulling his pants down and getting down on his knees.

"Oh God no," Cedric groaned, closing his eyes. Unfortunately for him, they made their rendezvous extra loud, causing him to throw up in his mouth a couple of times.

"Oh Clover, oh yeah baby that feels so good!"

A few minutes later the sun that was shining in his face was blocked by someone. Cedric tentatively opened his eye, screaming in horror as he saw Dewey and Earl standing naked over him.

"Please don't rape me!" he cried in horror.

"What should we do with him, my sweet?" Dewey asked Earl.

"Let's let him go. I don't want to stoop down to banging a rich bitch. Plus, what would our posse say? I don't feel like being shunned right now," Earl replied.

"Yes, I suppose that is the right thing to do," Dewey said, sighing before taking out his wand from his dress -- which lay on the floor -- and unlocking Cedric. He also conjured a long robe, and said, "I want this image to be in my mind alone."

He ran a finger down Cedric's chest, who made a face before nearly running out, glancing back once, and regretting it as he witnessed Dewey and Earl in a very…compromising position, shaking out his body before continuing to the Hufflepuff dorm rooms, vowing that he'd get Erin back in some way.

He was going to have so much fun.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

"Quidditch game today. Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor," Erin said after taking a final drag from her cigarette.

She threw it on the ground, stomping it out before looking around at her friends, who were all pretty much stoned.

"Hello, earth to everybody!"

"You've been acting strange lately, 'Rin, a little _too_ happy," Jeanea said, squinting her eyes against the harsh afternoon sun.

"Maybe I just got laid, ever think about that?" she retorted.

"Oh, guess who we found earlier --" Earl said, grinning as he thought about it.

"– Stark naked and handcuffed to a locker room bench --" Dewey said, finishing the sentence for Earl, as he had been doing lately.

"– Why, none other than our favorite rich bitch, Cedric Diggory."

"WHAT?" Samaire exclaimed, bursting into laughter, "Seriously? Oh I wish I had been there. So what did you do to him? Did you torture him? Castrate him?"

"We let him go," Dewey said brightly.

"WHY? You should've tortured him!" Samaire snapped.

"It was Earl's idea!"

"God, you're a bunch of pussies."

Erin smirked from where she sat, glad that at least Cedric got away unharmed, but also glad because she knew he was going to want payback, and, knowing Cedric, she would enjoy his payback very much.

She threw her ponytail over her shoulder before stomping out to the Quidditch field, taking a seat by all of the other Slytherins, who all looked like they had better things to do.

Everyone sat down by her, and, after a quick fight on who sat beside who, Lee Jordan's voice sounded over the stadium.

Within a blink of an eye, the Gryffindor Quidditch team flew out into the air, and half of the stadium erupted in applause as they did a few turns around the stadium.

Erin leaned against the rail as Lee announced the Hufflepuff team, which flew out afterwards, Cedric leading them as their team captain.

She barely resisted the urge to cheer for them and to call out to him as they flew near where she stood, but somehow she held it back, simply winking at him, though she doubted that he saw it because he was moving so fast.

She let out the smallest sigh before sitting back with her friends, trying not to look too into the game, but enjoying the way Cedric's muscles flexed as he chased the Snitch the first time before it disappeared before him.

"And that's another goal for Gryffindor scored by the fabulous Alicia Spinnet!"

Erin let out a loud boo as the Gryffindors gave each other high fives for the victory, and out of the corner of her eye she Cedric and Harry both race up for the sky as they saw the Snitch.

A few minutes later a scream erupted and Erin's head snapped up from her stupor as a person fell from the sky.

She jumped to her feet, squinting through the rain as she tried to see if he had on a Hufflepuff uniform, hoping to God that it wasn't Cedric…

"Oh my god that's that Harry Potter kid!" Dewey exclaimed, "He's such a handsome boy! I hope he isn't maimed too badly!"

"No, look! Dumbledore stopped him, and that filth, Diggory, caught the Snitch," Jeanea said, leering over at Cedric, who emerged from the clouds holding the Snitch in his hand as the Hufflepuffs cheered.

"AND HUFFLEPUFF WINS THE MATCH!" Lee roared over the loudspeaker

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey guys, I have to go see Snape about something. I'll see you later," Erin said, before running off towards the infirmary.

After the game had finished she had tried to get away to see Cedric, but they took him away as well, due to a broken arm.

She skidded to a halt right outside, taking a moment to catch her breath and fix her hair before she stepped inside, smiling as she saw Cedric walking towards the exit.

"Erin!" he said softly, taking her arm with his good one. His broken arm was in a sling so that it would heal properly, though Erin assumed it would most likely be off by tomorrow. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to be sure that you were all right. I saw them taking you off after the game."

"Yeah, well, I was thinking of you the whole game, that was the only thing that kept me going in that rain."

"You're so corny," Erin said, leaning close and giving him a quick kiss.

"But you love me anyways."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Y'reckon?

_pas sion : intense, driving, or overpowering feeling or emotion; suffering _

**Strange and Beautiful.**

Chapter 19

"Hey, Cedric! Psst, Cedric!"

Cedric let out a groggy moan and opened his eyes slowly and groggily.

"Get your ass up!"

Cedric blinked in disbelief. It was in the middle of the night and he was still in the hospital wing to be let out the next morning. Erin was standing at the door, waving at him. She appeared to be wearing a black mask and black material covering her mouth.

"Why?" Cedric groaned.

"I'm kidnapping you," she hissed. "Hurry up before we wake up the others!"

"Kidnap me in the morning," Cedric said, rolling over onto his stomach.

Cedric heard the door creak open as Erin tip-toed into the hospital wing. She grabbed his arm and twisted it into an awkward and painful position behind his back.

"You come with me," she whispered into his ear, "or I'll do it the painful way."

Cedric gulped and sat up, his eyes widening slightly as he saw her outfit. She was wearing a form-fitting black sweater and even tighter black jeans. She looked prepared to rob a bank.

"Don't say a word," she snapped, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the bed. "If you do, I'll have to punish you."

"Yes ma'am," Cedric stammered.

Erin pushed him forward and wrapped her arm around his face, covering his mouth with a gloved hand. She pushed him roughly out of the hospital wing, a grin on her face behind her mask.

The two of them walked awkwardly and silently down the hallway until Erin suddenly pushed him into an empty classroom.

"Say a thing, and you'll regret it," she growled, pushing him roughly on the floor. She straddled herself on top of him and ripped his nightshirt apart.

She bent down low and began biting down his chest and stomach, leaving red marks in her wake.

"Erin..." he groaned, as she pulled his boxers down.

"Don't say anything," she purred, gripping his hips tightly with her hands as she gave him the very finest of her specialty.

- - -

Erin walked down the hall slowly, her feet dragging behind her. Today was October 15th; not only was it a miserable Monday, but it was her sixteenth birthday. Not a single person had muttered "happy birthday", not a single hug, not a single present. Cedric had been hiding from her all day, as had her friends. To make matters worse, she had just landed herself a Friday detention with Professor Sprout for spilling a bag of manure on the floor.

"Snake venom," she snapped to the portrait outside of her common room.

"The nerve!" the greasy man in the portrait muttered. "Have some respect for your portrait! With that attitude I'll..."

The portrait's train of thought was cut off as Erin ripped the door open, stomping inside and preparing to cart herself up the stairs to bed.

"SURPRISE!"

Erin jumped when she realized that a good portion of the Slytherins had just jumped out from behind couches and other hiding places.

"Happy birthday, Erin!"

A smile widened on Erin's face as she realized that many people were holding presents in there hands, even Clover, and Earl, who were in Ravenclaw.

"Thanks guys," she said.

"Take a seat in the birthday chair," Earl said, pushing her gently into a large, comfortable chair. She looked around and a slight frown appeared on her face at the absence of Rina, Samaire, and Jeanea. She forgot about it, though, when a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Cedric?" Erin asked softly. His hands moved from her eyes and he went on his knees in front of her.

"Happy birthday," he said, looking up at her with a big smile on his face.

"Cedric," she whispered, leaning in close. "What are you doing here? What have I told you about us keeping quiet?"

"I'm sick of keeping us a secret," he said, taking her hands in his. "I want everyone to know how much I care."

"Well I don't!" Erin snapped, standing up.

Erin's eyes wandered to the portrait hole, which had just opened. Samaire and Rina walked in, holding Jeanea up between them. Her hair was strewn over her face.

"What's wrong with her?" Erin gasped, running over to them.

"It's Adrian," Samaire said. "He dumped her."

"Why?" Erin gasped, bending down so that she could look into Jeanea's eyes.

"Is she alright?" Cedric asked from behind Erin.

Samaire's face took a drastic change from concerned to pissed off. "What's he doing here?" she snapped.

Cedric slinked his arms around Erin's waist. "We're dating," he said. "I was throwing her a surprise birthday party."

Samaire, Rina, and even Jeanea shot questioning looks at Erin.

"What the fuck..." Samaire stammered. "This isn't happening..."

"Was die Hölle Sie denken?" Rina screamed. "Warum datieren Sie tatsächlich ihn? Bitte erzählen Sie mich, dass es gibt, eine andere Wette hat Sie kleines Stück der Scheiße verwickelt, weil wenn Sie tatsächlich denken, dass Sie sich um ihn für eine Sekunde dann ich sorgen, zu pummel Ihr Gesicht abzustauben werde haben!"

There were a few minutes of Samaire and Rina screaming at Erin while the rest of the common room remained silent.

"JUST STOP IT!" Erin roared. "You," she growled, turning her attention to Cedric. "I asked you for one thing. ONE THING! And you go against what I asked. You're not as great as all your female fans make you out to be, you know that?"

Erin turned to Samaire and Rina, her face reddening. "And you two! Why do you have to be so fucking judgmental? So what if I'm dating someone that you don't find to be 'cool'? SO FUCKING WHAT? So what if I'm happy? Why do you have to go blow it all up in my face because you're just that pompous, and you're just that selfish?"

Erin turned to face the silent room full of people. "Thanks for the party," she muttered, before stomping up the staircase to her dormitories.

- - -

Erin sat up on her bed; her face beat red in anger. She was tapping her foot angrily on her bed to the beat of the music that was blaring in her ears. It was, of course, Iron Maiden.

She jumped when she realized that someone had fallen on to her bed. She threw her headphones off in anger, but relaxed when she realized it was Jeanea.

"You ok?" Erin asked softly. Jeanea let out a grunt of sorts. "What'd he say?"

"He wanted me for sex," she whispered. She raised her head so that Erin could look into her eyes. They were red and puffy, and she was very pale. "He was banging this Samantha girl. I asked him what was going on; he tried to sweet talk me. I asked what the whole relationship had been about. He said, 'you were a good bang, Jeanea.' and he went back to Samantha!"

Jeanea buried her head in the sheets and let out a wail.

"WHY DO I ALWAYS FUCK THINGS UP WITH THE MEN?" she cried.

"Because they're assholes," Erin said softly. She pulled Jeanea up and gave her a hug. "You're the best thing all of them have ever had. So what if you're good in bed? You have so much more to offer."

Jeanea pulled out of the hug. "Thanks Erin," she said, wiping her eyes on the sheets. "That's just what I needed to hear. Now, tell me, what happened with you and Cedric?"

"You aren't mad?" Erin said softly, running her fingers through her hair.

"Of course not," Jeanea said. "Sure I thought you were crazy earlier, but you love him. Like I loved Adrian. You can't just stop that because he's different."

Erin smiled lightly. "That's just what I needed to hear, too."

- - -


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note**: Heyyy everyone! Don't have anything to say so….hope you like!

_Hey, yo - here I am,  
and here we go,  
life's waiting to begin. _

Any type of love - it will be shown,  
like every single tree reach for the sky.  
If you're gonna fall,  
I'll let you know,  
that I will pick you up  
like you for I,  
I thought this thing,  
I can't replace.  
When everyone was working for this goal.  
We're all the children left without a trace,  
only to come back, as pure as gold,  
To recite this all.   
-Angels and Airwaves; The Adventure (another rad song to check out)

**Chapter 20**

Erin stared forward as she sat on her bed, Jeanea painting her toenails a bright red that Erin would've never picked for herself.

"What do I do Jeanea? I mean…He promised that he wouldn't let it slip we were dating, in any way…and then he just…blows it, all in one night, and everyone hates me; well, everyone except you, Clover, and Earl," Erin said, blowing a piece of hair out of her face as she shifted.

"But you love him right?"

"Of course I do, you know that I do Jeanea, more than anyone else does; well, maybe besides him."

"Well, the answer should be simple then, shouldn't it?" Jeanea remarked, her eyebrow arching as she looked up at her, smirking before going back to her toes.

Erin sighed, frustrated, and lay back on her pillow, trying not to move her feet, staring up at the green and silver curtain that surrounded her entire bed, spare the side that Jeanea was on.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Adrian, Jeanea. You deserve so much better; I'm just sorry he wasn't who you hoped he would be," Erin said to Jeanea, who let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry too. I…I thought he was different from all of the other assholes I dated before…I thought he really loved me for me, you know, like Cedric loves you for you, but, whatever, what's done is done, right?"

Erin shrugged, fingering the small diamond pendant that hung around her neck that Cedric had given it to her soon after they got back together, as a promise of sorts.

---------------------------------------

"_Hey, Erin, come over here for a second," Cedric called to her, as she waited for him to finish getting ready after a Quidditch practice._

"_What, Cedric? I'm starvinggggg," Erin whined, standing up lethargically and walking slowly over to where Cedric stood in front of his locker._

_He simply grinned mischievously before reaching into the back of his locker, pulling out a long, thin velvet box. "For you," he simply said, the grin not leaving his face as she took it, eyeing him suspiciously._

"_What's the occasion?" she asked him, her fingers itching to open it, though she was holding herself back._

"_Just…I guess, the fact that we got back together is the occasion. I had been planning to give it to you…you know, last time we were together," Cedric said, shrugging and leaning against the locker as Erin opened the box, a smile spreading across her face. He noticed that her eyes were smiling for once as well as she looked up at him._

"_It's beautiful, Cedric," she whispered, pulling out the delicate gold chain, a simple, yet beautiful diamond pendant hanging from it._

_He stepped forward, taking it and pushing her hair off of her neck, kissing it gently before clasping the necklace around her neck, placing her hair back once it was on._

"_Thank you," she whispered, looking up at him affectionately._

"_You're welcome."_

------------------------------------------------------------

"Aaaaaand, we're finished! Just let me dry these and you will be free to go find Mr. Diggory."

Erin smiled softly, taking a deep breath as she dried the polish, before suddenly leaning forward and hugging Jeanea. "Thanks for being here for me, 'Nea," Erin whispered, "It means so much to me."

"No problem 'Rin…no problem at all. That's what best friends are for."

She hugged Jeanea once more before hopping up, slipping her feet in a nearby pair of black leather sandals before heading out the door to find Cedric, smiling confidently as she navigated her way through various throngs of younger students on their way back to their dorms so that they could reach curfew in time; but she, being in 6th year, had a later curfew than most of them.

She walked briskly up to the Great Hall, slipping in as the doors were held open by some students. She looked around to find Cedric, and smiled as she saw him, standing not far away, talking and laughing with some people --

-- some people who happened to be Rina, Samaire, and Benny, all looking equally pissed. Benny especially looked pissed since the teachers had found out about the pot and taken it away from him; so now he was especially pissed, not liking being sober without his precious pot.

"We can't help our feelings, couldn't you just try and be supportive? I mean you're supposed to be her best friends…" Erin heard Cedric say to them as she walked closer and closer, Rina spotting her out of the corner of her eye, a glare forming on her face.

Erin met her gaze and doubled it before placing her hand on Cedric's shoulder, jerking him away from them, and dragging him out of the hall by his sleeve.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" she practically screamed once she had dragged him to a dark corner of a relatively empty hallway.

"Erin, calm down baby, I was just trying to reason with them!" Cedric said, reaching out to try to cup her face in his hands, but she smacked them away.

"I don't want you to touch me! I don't want you to talk to me, I don't want to see you anymore! If I can't trust you, then how am I supposed to be in a relationship with you! It's OVER, Cedric! You know what the saddest part is though? I was going to come down here to forgive you! I thought maybe…you know maybe….never mind," Erin growled, pulling the necklace off of her neck and throwing it at Cedric's feet before turning around and running off, tears not forming into her eyes until she reached the Astronomy tower. She slid down the wall and buried her face in her hands as she wept.

"…Erin? Erin, is that you?"

She looked up, sniffing as she saw Harry sitting opposite of her. She realized he'd been there the entire time and she hadn't even known.

"Oh, hey Harry. I didn't see you there. I'm…I'll just go now, see you around."

"Wait…are you okay?" he asked her softly, standing up.

Erin opened her mouth, ready to snap one of her rude answers at him, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth, and she found herself, instead, crying more as Harry tried to comfort her in his arms.

"It's alright…you don't have to talk…just….it's okay Erin," Harry whispered softly as Erin simply cried, never thinking she'd find comfort in the arms of Harry Potter in a million years.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: **What a beautiful day! Don't you agree?

_Because I need you more than you need me  
Because I want you more I know_

Because we moved too fucking fast  
I think I really had to wish to make this last I know

I'm sorry please forgive me, believe me if you want

Because I cared way more  
Because I really felt that you felt so much more I know

I'm sorry please forgive me, believe me if you want  
I'm sorry please forgive me, believe me if you could

-Boxcar Racer; Sorrow (just a generally great song for a generally great band.)

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter 21

_Dear Diary,_

_So everything's pretty much fucked up and gone to the shits now._

_I feel like such a prep. All these feelings. I love Cedric – though I fucking hate him at the same time – but he would never comfort me the way Harry did. Harry just listened, when Cedric would put in his two cents. But Harry's like...a Gryffindor. And a third year. And he doesn't have that man smell like Cedric._

_Ok, that sounds fucking creepy._

_But I feel torn. Do I go for the one who cares who I like less, or do I go for the one who lies but I love?_

_Fucking teen drama._

_-Erin_

Erin threw her diary at the wall at the foot of her bed, a dissatisfied sneer forming on her face when it fell and opened, revealing it's contents. She stood, picked up the diary, and tossed it in her trunk.

She stared out the window at the black night. The moon was covered with clouds, and her vision was obscured by a layer of fog resting on her window. Erin had to resist the urge to scream at the fog, for it would wake up Jeanea. She didn't care about Samaire; she considered Samaire to be her ex-friend.

She scowled at the window when she heard a soft _'tap, tap'_. She stomped over to the window and ripped it open, surprised to see a snowy white owl sitting on the sill with a letter in it's beak.

Erin furrowed her brow and took the letter out of the owl's beak, scanning it quickly.

_Hey Erin,_

_Meet me outside your common room at one. I have something to show you._

_-Harry_

_P. S. Get your mind out of the gutter._

A smile broke out on Erin's face at his cute attempt at humor. _What hurt could come of _

_seeing what he wanted,_ she thought. She checked her watch – which read 12:50 – and snuck out of her dormitories.

Erin tip-toed through the common room and slowly opened the portrait, closing it behind her when she stepped out.

She checked her watch again – 12:55 – and leaned against the wall, her arms crossed and her patience waning.

"Boo."

Erin let out a wail and jumped when she heard the person whisper in her ear; the problem was, no one was there.

"Peeves..." she whispered. "This isn't funny."

She took another step back as Harry materialized out of thin air, clutching his side in laughter.

"Oh, that was priceless," he said, still laughing.

"What is that thing?" Erin asked, pointing to the cloak that he had just pulled off of himself.

"It's my invisibility cloak," he said. "Come on, get under here with me."

Erin stepped close to him and he swung it over her shoulders. She found Harry to be crouching a bit as to make sure that the soles of his trainers weren't visible.

"Where are we going, anyways?" Erin asked after the pair set off.

"You'll see," Harry whispered, pulling her to the wall to avoid a close collision with Professor Flitwick.

The pair walked wordlessly down the hallways, passing an array of teachers and ghosts on their way.

"Here we are," Harry whispered when the were standing in front of the statue of an ugly and decrepit witch. He pulled the cloak off of Erin.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Erin retorted. "We're standing in front of an ugly statue in the middle of no where in the middle of the night."

Harry ignored her and, after placing his wand on the statue, muttered, _"Dissendium."_

The statue moved itself so that a hump grew large enough for them to climb through. Harry went first and Erin followed after him.

"Ok, now you have me curious."

"Just be quiet, you'll see."

Erin walked behind Harry, feeling annoyed at the lack of information presented to her. They were silent as they walked down a long, dirty hallway for what felt like an hour.

Without warning, Erin stopped in her tracks.

"Tell me, and tell me now, where are we going? I don't want you to drag me off school grounds so you can feed me to the Dementors for revenge or something."

"I swear it's not that. We're here, anyway."

Harry reached above his head and pulled open a trapdoor, pulling himself up and out.

"Ok, you have me interested," Erin said, following him up.

She looked around the room, a skeptical look on her face. "It's a basement with boxes," she retorted.

"It's not just about the boxes," Harry said, approaching one of them. "It's about what's in them."

Harry raced around, opening box after box. A variety of sweet smells emitted from each box, and Erin realized that they all contained sweets.

"Welcome to the cellar of Honeydukes," Harry said, fanning his arm around to show it off.

"Wow," Erin said, walking up to one of the boxes and pulling out a cockroach cluster.

"This is all yours."

Erin began sucking on the end of a Sugar Quill, staring at Harry. "You brought me down here to bribe me with candy?"

"I figured you'd need something sweet to perk you up, with everything that's been going on," Harry said.

"How much do you know?" Erin asked, her eyes dimming.

"I have my sources," Harry replied, staring at the roof absent-mindedly while chewing on Fizzing Whizzbee.

"You care that much?" Erin asked softly, approaching Harry.

"While – err – I umm...err –"

"You what?"

"How could I not?" Harry said quickly.

Erin took a step forward and placed her hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Thank you," she whispered into his ear. She stared into his bright green eyes momentarily before closing her own and kissing him softly.

- - -

"She was the shits, anyway," Martin said, patting Cedric on the shoulder.

"Have you looked at her?" Cedric replied, staring at Martin with red, puffy eyes. "Have you talked to her?"

"Why would I?" Martin snorted. "She looks like shit because of all that makeup and man clothes that she wears, and she's probably a bitch anyway. Look at all she's done to you!"

"It was my fault," Cedric grumbled, swirling his pumpkin juice around with his spoon. "I went and did the one thing she asked me not to do. It's my fault. She deserves better."

"Looks like she's found it."

Cedric gave Martin a fuzzy look. "What?" he grumbled.

"Look at her. She's over there. With Potter."

Cedric's head slowly twisted over to where Martin was pointing, a look of awe on his face.

Martin wasn't lying.

Erin and Harry were standing at the entrance to the Great Hall, snogging.

Cedric slowly stood up, swaying, and exited the Hall, willing himself not to throw up all over his freshly washed robes.

- - -


	22. Chapter 22

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I really hope you like this chapter, a bit of foreshadowing perhaps? That's for you to decide J

**Chapter 22**

"Hey, Jeanea, have you seen Samaire? I need to talk to her, get her to reason with me," Erin said, walking up to Jeanea the next morning in the common room.

"Mmhmm, she said she was going to smoke in the courtyard," Jeanea said distractedly, waving her hand towards the door.

"Thanks."

Erin grabbed her overcoat and her scarf, wrapping it around her neck before trumping out of the common room and making her way to the courtyard, where she assumed that she would find Samaire.

Her assumption was right, and Erin strode over to where Samaire was sitting behind a tree lighting a joint, her hand blocking it from the wind.

"Samaire, we need to talk."

"Go fuck yourself. Or better yet, go fuck your Rich Bitch, I'm sure he won't complain," Samaire snapped after taking a puff.

"I broke up with him, as if it matters to you," Erin replied tartly, crossing her arms over her shoulders.

"Good. He was a piece of shit anyways," Samaire said, blowing a stream of smoke in her direction before Erin turned around and left.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Cedric's empty firewhisky bottle fell from his hand, rolling across the cheap card table as the music blasted around them, courtesy of a local wizarding band.

Martin had found Cedric sulking in the common room earlier that day, and not able to stand it anymore, he dragged him to what he described as "The best fucking Halloween party you will be to in your life".

So far it was the worst.

Drinking only made Cedric miss Erin even more, each blurred face looking like her in some way or some how.

"Cedric! Stand on your feet, soldier! I found the perfect girl for you! She's drunk and willing!" Martin exclaimed, pulling Cedric to her feet as a tall brunette in heels came over, nearly falling over twice in the process.

She was definitely wasted.

Cedric looked her up and down and shook his head in disgust before making his way to the other side of the spinning room, the pounding in his head getting harder and harder as he got closer to the band and the screaming drunk girls and guys.

He saw a table full of glasses of firewhiskey and he grabbed one and downed it. Though it burned going down his throat, it was taking him to another place, a good place.

That feeling immediately evaporated, though, as a stocky red head crashed into Cedric, sending him flying backwards over the couch he was leaning on.

"Fuuuuuuuck," he moaned, rubbing his forehead before trying to get up, his limbs not wanting to work at the moment.

"What's a gorgeous boy like you doing down there, on the floor?" a girl with jet black hair asked him, looking down at him with a smirk.

"I fell," he said, not knowing if that was what he really said. His mouth didn't seem to want to work either.

She laughed, obviously only half drunk, before helping him up, Cedric stumbling all over the place like a fish out of water once he was on his own two feet.

"She broke my heart," he croaked out, not knowing why he was telling this to a complete stranger, "she broke my heart and then went for another guy, a younger guy…Harry Potter."

She seemed to comprehend most of what he was saying, but he couldn't be certain, because he didn't even know if what he was saying made sense.

"Fuck her, fuck my ex-boyfriend. They're all assholes," she told him, making him realize that, obviously, she understood him.

"But I love her," he whined, reaching for another firewhisky, and kicking the table when he found that there were none left.

"Love's for the weak," she said before suddenly jumping up on the table and pulling her shirt off, letting out a loud cry as all of the attention turned to her.

She reached down, pulling Cedric up on the table with her where he followed suit, taking off his shirt, almost falling off of the table in the process.

His pants were soon flying across the room and then, before he could do anything else, he fell off the table, a pair of humongous boobs in his line of vision when he opened his eyes.

"Look at poor little rich bitch. He is half naked. Listen, Benny bores me, so I want you, to make me not bored," a voice he recognized as Rina's, a friend of Erin's, said, pulling him up.

"What the fuck?" he asked, his head screaming at him.

"Come with me," she said, dragging him to a back room that was empty. Cedric was half tempted to turn around and go back to join that black haired mystery girl, and yet, he was also half tempted to stay right where he was.

He was lonely, whether he liked it or not.

Loneliness and horniness put together never equal anything good.

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Paaaaaartayyy!" Erin exclaimed as she walked into the little house, full to the brim with drunk people having fun. Erin had overheard a few people talking about an amazing party that was to be held tonight, Halloween night, after the feast, and who was she to turn down a party.

"It's very…loud!" Harry exclaimed, almost having to yell to be heard over the sound.

"It's WILD!" Erin exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air and letting out a whoop. There was a bunch of boys laughing to her right, so she pulled Harry in that direction to see the little Creevey boy with what seemed like the wizard form of a movie, playing against the white wall.

"Is that…" Harry asked and Erin nodded, her eyes wide; it was Cedric, stripping, on a table…with Cho Chang.

"Holy FUCK!" she exclaimed, "he's here? Dammit!"

"We could leave…if you wanted," Harry suggested, not wanting to admit that the party sort of made him nervous.

"Not quite yet. I want to chew his ass off for getting drunk and making a fucking fool of himself," Erin growled, dragging Harry along behind her as she looked for Cedric.

"Is that such a…good idea?" Harry shouted as they got closer to the music, going back into a hallway.

"It is to me!" Erin exclaimed, kicking open a door, which was the bathroom, where at least 10 people were on the floor in compromising positions in what seemed to be a massive orgy.

"Uhm…ew," Harry said as they quickly moved to the next room, loud moans heard from even outside the door. Harry looked skeptically at Erin as she opened the door, her face paling as she saw what was inside.

"Oh…uhm," Harry said as, not knowing they were being watched, Cedric and Rina continued their…rather passionate ministrations.

"I'm going to be sick," Erin exclaimed, saying the exact thing that Cedric had said just a few evenings ago, before running away. Out of the house, and all the way out until she reached a bush, throwing up more than she had ever in her life.

Meanwhile, Cedric and Rina looked up, hearing Erin's distinct voice. Cedric felt a pit fall in his stomach as he realized she had caught him doing it with one of her best friends. He was screwed, and not in the literal sense.

- - -

Harry followed Erin outside, rubbing her back gently as she threw up into the bush.

"You ok?" he asked, not expecting an answer.

Erin looked up at him, her eyes red. "No!" she said. "I'm not fucking okay!"

Harry swallowed. "You still love him, don't you?"

"I...don't know. I just, don't, ok?"

"I..."

"I can't do this," Erin said firmly, straightening herself up. "I'm sorry Harry, but I just can't."

Erin turned on her heel and walked towards the school, trying to rearrange things in her head so that they made sense.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N:** This is our last saved chapter, so updating is going to go at a snail's pace from here on. Nudge, nudge, Darcy.

_I don't mind you coming here  
and wasting all my time  
'cause when you're standing oh so near  
I kinda lose my mind  
it's not the perfume that you wear  
it's not the ribbons in your hair  
I don't mind you coming here  
and wasting all my time  
I don't mind you hanging out  
and talking in your sleep  
it doesn't matter where you've been  
as long as it was deep  
you always knew to wear it well  
you look so fancy I can tell  
I don't mind you hanging out  
and talking in your sleep  
I guess you're just what I needed  
I needed someone to feed  
I guess you're just what I needed  
I needed someone to bleed..._

-the Cars; Just What I Needed

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter 23

Erin sat on the railing in the highest Astronomy tower, staring at the quarter moon that was barely visible through the clouds. It was a cold night, and she pulled her coat closer to her body to warm herself up.

"What the fuck?" she muttered. "Why does Cedric have to be such a drunk bastard? And what is Rina thinking? She has Benny! They've been together for 3 fucking years! Jesus Christ! Then again, it's not like I'm so great, going with Harry for revenge or rebound or whatever the fuck it was."

"I don't think you're so bad."

Erin let out a wail and fell onto the ground at the shock of having someone whisper in her ear.

"What the fuck?" she shouted, staring at the ground, anger boiling up inside of her. "Why would you fucking scare me like that? Jesus Christ."

"I'm sorry," the male voice said softly.

His voice was deep and charming, very smooth.

"It's ok," Erin muttered, getting to her feet. "I probably shouldn't be letting my thoughts out in public, anyway."

The boy laughed, a deep, ringing laugh, that added to his ubiquitous charm. He was very handsome, Erin realized. He was tall – presumably 6 foot – with dark olive skin and deep eyes. His hair was fairly short in the back and longer in the front so a small sheet of it fell before his eyes; though, when he flipped back his hair with a motion of his head, he looked more handsome than ever.

"I'm Jackson," he said, not bothering to take out his hand in a welcoming gesture, but rather nodding.

"Erin," she replied, sending a toothy grin at Jackson. He smiled back, though he showed no teeth.

"These are my friends," he said, gesturing nonchalantly behind him. Though the group was mostly boys, there were two girls who were leaning in, giggling as they pointed at Jackson. "Or at least, most of them are..." he added as an afterthought.

Erin laughed a high-pitched laugh, and stopped herself when she realized that she sounded like a fool.

"I like your boots," he said, a sly grin forming on his face. Erin's cheeks reddened at his comment.

"Jackson! What the fuck? Are we coming here to fucking flirt with a fucking little bitch or are we fucking come here to fucking do the shit that we fucking planned to do?"

"Sorry about him," Jackson muttered, his brow furrowed, referring to the tall, skinny, pimply, rat-faced boy who had just called him. "He doesn't know much about manners."

"It's ok," Erin said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey rat-face!" Jackson called. "I'll come over there when you learn how to wash your face!"

The rat-faced boy shot Jackson the middle finger and turned back to the group, lighting up a cigarette.

"You smoke?" Jackson asked, flicking his wand to make a cigarette appear.

Erin took the cigarette from him greedily.

"Good stress reliever, eh?" he continued. "What's wrong?"

"How do you know something's wrong?" Erin asked, her eyes dimmed.

"I was listening to your confessional," he said, a sleek smile forming on his face.

"Right...that..." Erin stuttered.

"While, what's wrong? You don't know me, you don't even know if I go to your school or not. Maybe I can help."

"Well, there's this guy. Last year, I dated him for money –"

"– ouch," Jackson said.

"Yeah, I know. Well, I hated him, because he was a rich bitch, which is my group's sworn enemy; then, we dated, he was awesome, and I fell for him. But of course, I thought that my arrogant friends were right, and I cheated on him with Harry Potter for a good excuse to dump him for the money."

"Ouch, one again," he said.

"So of course, I was heartbroken. I had the choice between my friends, and him. I kept with my friends; then, my two guy friends hooked up – "

"That's weird. Very, very, weird."

"– and my best friend found a guy of her own. Two of my other friends had hooked up already. I was alone, and so was my other friend, Samaire; the one with the mohawk.

"Summer came, and my dad kicked me out of the house. I felt abandoned, alone, useless. None of my friends even contacted me. I was out of a place, out of money; I got a job at a strip joint.

"I was gone down the toilet. I was a drunk, I smoked, I got stoned, and I had stripped for countless old warlocks who were so horny they couldn't realize that I was only 16. I made them happy, they gave me money, it seemed ok at the time.

"Then he found me. Cedric. He took me to his house and tried to take care of me. I was afraid; he had seen me in my worst possible time. I was at the bottom of the barrel. I could barely afford food, never mind housing; I was a drunk, I was a stripper, I couldn't stand having my knight in shining armor save me at that point! So I ran.

"I came back to Hogwarts in the fall and I knew that I couldn't be away from him any more. We began dating, but on one condition; we would keep it a secret. That way, I could have him and my friends.

"But he couldn't keep it in him. On my birthday, he threw a party for me in my common room. In front of all my friends. Samaire, Rina, and Benny – three of my friends – won't talk to me. I broke up with Cedric; he had ruined everything.

"So who's the first person I see after we break up? Harry Potter. The boy who I destroyed Cedric and myself with in the first place. Harry comforted me, and I figured...how bad could it be? I could give him a shot. Sure, he's 3 years younger. But he had fought a Basilisk, which is pretty damn impressive.

"Ooh, you think that's drama, but it gets better. Next, I go to a party with Harry. Guess who I see fucking Rina, my friend who hated me. Cedric! You heard me right. Cedric and Rina. My ex friend and my ex boyfriend.

"Harry saw me run off, and he tried to comfort me. I realized that I was in love with Cedric, and not Harry, so I had to let him go.

"Thus, I ended up here. With you. I don't know your last name, your house, your age, but you just found out everything about – "

Erin stopped abruptly, realizing that she just had spilled her life to someone that she truly didn't know. Her face sank and her cheeks flushed.

"Uhh..." she stammered. "I...well..."

She stared off at the starry sky. The moon had broken out of the clouds and was now shining silver on her skin. She blinked hard, trying to think of a way to get herself out of the awkward situation she had so artfully placed herself in.

She turned to look at Jackson, still unsure of what to say. She was considering shouting 'April Fools!' until she realized that it was October.

Her brain clicked on suddenly when she realized that Jackson was walking away from her, flanked by his friends. She stared at him incredulously.

He turned around, flashing an inviting smile at her. She was surprised to find herself walking forward, as if he was calling her forward without even saying a word.

- - -


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note:** I love Jared Padalecki!

_Wandering the streets, in a world underneath it all  
Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet  
As what I can't have  
Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair  
round your finger  
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you  
What I feel about you._

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
and cannon ball into the water  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
For you I will

Forgive me if I st-stutter  
From all of the clutter in my head  
Cuz I could fall asleep in those eyes  
Like a water bed  
Do I seem familiar, I've crossed you in hallways  
a thousand times, no more camouflage  
I want to be exposed, and not be afraid to fall.

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
And cannon ball into the water  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
You always want what you can't have  
But I've got to try  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
For you I will  
For you I will  
For you

If I could dim the lights in the mall  
And create a mood I would  
Shout out your name so it echoes in every room, yeah

That's what I'd do,  
That's what I'd do  
To get through to you

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
And cannon ball into the waterI'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
You always want what you can't have  
But I've got to try  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will

-Teddy Geiger; For You I Will

**Chapter 24**

Erin heard the conversation around her, but she didn't take any of it in. Her friends seemed to be talking about how sick they were of school, but she didn't know for sure.

"Earth to Erin, are you even listening to a word we've been saying?" Jeanea demanded, snapping her fingers in front of Erin's eyes.

Erin glared at her, sighing before rolling her eyes, "What do you think?" she snapped, crossing her arms firmly over her chest.

It seemed as if the world had been ganging up on her lately, everyone wanting, needing, her to do something else.

Erin can you, Erin are you, Erin? ERIN?

She couldn't take much more of this.

And then there was Jackson. Mysterious, handsome Jackson. He didn't ask her to do anything, or expect her to be anyone but herself. He was helping her realize that these people whom she had called her friends for the past 5 years of her life weren't truly her friends.

As if on cue, Erin heard a whistle and glanced over to where the sound came from, smiling as she saw Jackson standing there, pushing some of his hair out of his eyes before folding his arms around his chest.

He was alone and it excited Erin to know that he was comfortable hanging out with just her; they hadn't been alone much, and very often they were with one of his friends.

She subtly slipped away from her friends, which wasn't easy because they were in their own heated conversations now, and made her way briskly to Jackson, who looked _strikingly_ handsome that morning.

"Hey," he simply said as she walked up to him, "you ready?"

"Yeah, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

-------------

And did she ever.

For the first time in her life, Erin began to see things clearly, see things that were right in front of her eyes, things she had just overlooked previously.

Like the fact that her friends were holding her down, they didn't do anything to help her with her life, all they cared about was what she did to their lives, and she could finally see that now that Jackson was in her life.

He took her to a hidden passageway, and from there down to a small tunnel where they met a few friends. Erin was mildly disappointed at the fact that she and Jackson weren't going to be alone anymore, but with a simple smile from him, it all faded away, and soon after, she was experiencing an all new high.

"Try it…it won't kill you or anything, just…give you another view of the world," Jackson said, smirking devilishly at her as he poured the white powder on top of the small table, taking a blade and parting it into two thin lines, "Trust me…you'll like it."

Erin eyed him warily for a moment while looking down at it. She had done drugs before, sure, there was the pot, and she tried E once, but never this, never Coke. She reached for a straw, not realizing that her hand was shaking until it made contact with the straw, and a moment later Jackson's warm hand closed over her own and she looked up, all of her nervousness gone as she looked steadily into his eyes, giving a little smile even.

Closing her eyes, she knelt down and snorted for the first time in her life, a strange burn spreading through her nose and down her throat that made her want to cry…but then everything felt sort of…hyper.

She felt a buzz spread through her body, her toes tingling and she started blinking rapidly for a minute, shaking her body once to try and get rid of it, seeing Jackson smirking next to her.

"This is normal for a first time user…you'll come to love the feeling Erin," he said, surprising calm even though he had just had a couple of lines himself. Erin didn't want to seem stupid or inexperienced around him, so she took a deep breath, that buzz not leaving her as she leaned forward and kissed him passionately, Jackson smirking and dragging her away from the rest of the group just moments later.

-------------

"You look like shit."

"It's so lovely to see you too, Jeanea."

"Just telling the truth. Did you get some bad pot or something?" Jeanea asked Erin, stumbling upon her later that night in the Great Hall.

"It's none of your business, why can't you just stay out of my business!" Erin snapped, face to face with Jeanea by now. She was agitated because the feeling of having all the energy in the world had slowly vanished from her body, and she wanted it back badly.

That's what she got for only doing one line though. If she had actually been brave like Jackson, and done 2 or 3, she would've been feeling great still. Now, after only 7 hours, she had a fucker of a headache and just wanted to crawl into a small, wet corner.

Jackson had suggested she get some dinner before they hung out in the astronomy tower to finish what they had started earlier, and thus how she got here arguing with her supposed best friend.

"Geeze, PMS much?" Jeanea snarled, shoving her out of her way before storming out of the Great Hall.

Erin flung her head around and walked in a straight line towards her seat at the Slytherin table, shoving some random food into her mouth until she was full, and felt slightly better, but not much.

The only thing that could possibly make her feel even worse than she did right now was seeing…oh good god, Cedric.

He was staring at her. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, he was making eye contact with her, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

She looked back to her plate, almost empty, not wanting him to think he could get her to fall back for him so easily. She had moved on…way on, she was with Jackson, who was also staring intently at her.

She quickly finished her remaining food, getting up from the table immediately after that and walking directly towards Jackson, nearly screaming when someone stepped in her path.

"Erin…can we talk?"


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: **I'd just like to wish you all a fantastic summer. Don't drink and drive!

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter 25

Erin stared up at Cedric, a scowl on your face.

"No," she replied smartly, turning on her heel and walking off.

She jolted back as his strong hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him.

"We're talking," he hissed into her ear. "Now."

She whipped around to face him, obvious anger on her face. Regardless, she followed him out of the Great Hall.

Erin slammed the large door behind herself, and a resonating _bang_ was heard for a few moments before she snapped, "What?"

"Just listen, for a second," he said. "I'm going crazy without you. I want you, I need you. I know I probably don't deserve you, but just give me a chance, and I'll make it up to you."

"Where'd you get that line from?" Erin retorted. "Some shitty Harlequin romance novel? Or maybe some terrible teen novel based around a girl who's so naive that she'd fall for a line like that?"

"Err..."

"This whole thing has been like some shitty teen novel," Erin cut in. "First I fall for you, but of course I didn't like you in the beginning. We break up because you can't do the one thing I ask. Then you go and sleep with my friend."

"I was drunk! I couldn't help it! Rina's boobs just looked so...perfect!"

"YOU SHALLOW JACKASS!" she screamed, reaching up and slapping him across the face.

Cedric reached up and touched his face gingerly.

"I'll always love you," he muttered.

"I never loved you," Erin hissed, turning on her heel and letting herself inside.

- - -

"He's so...urgh!" Erin said, throwing her hands in the air. She was pacing in front of the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room.

"I know," Jackson replied.

"Why won't he just fucking give it up?" she snapped. "I've moved on."

"Oh yeah?" Jackson cooed, slinking his arms around her waist. "With who?"

Erin suppressed a feminine giggle. "You tell me," she whispered, leaning up to kiss him.

"I'm not sure," he said. "You aren't officially dating anyone."

"Let's change that."

Jackson leaned in to her ear. "Be my girlfriend?" he whispered.

"Of course," she whispered back.

Erin looked up into his eyes; his dark, mysterious eyes. There was so much that she wanted to learn about him...so little that she knew. And now, she had a lot of time to learn.

"I'm going to do my first good deed as your boyfriend."

"What's that?" she asked, a sly smile peeking at the corner of her mouth.

"Get revenge against Cedric for everything he's done to you."

Jackson grabbed Erin's arm and stomped out of the common room, pulling her behind him. His facial expression had went from it's usual mysterious blur to something different; anger, and revenge. Erin felt a little nervous.

"Where is he?" Jackson growled.

"I don't know," Erin replied.

"I thought you were mad at him!"

"I am...just..."

"Stop being a pussy. I thought you were one of the cool girls."

"Fine. He's in the Great Hall. Or outside."

Jackson's grasp around Erin's wrist tightened as he pulled her in the direction of the Great Hall.

"He's over there," she said gently, pointing in the direction of the Hufflepuff table.

Jackson stomped over to the table and stood Cedric up by the collar of his robes. He turned Cedric around so he was facing him and...

_WHAM._

Jackson's fist came in hard contact with the side of Cedric's face, sending Cedric flying backwards onto his table. Food splayed everywhere and people scattered, screaming, knowing that a fight was doomed to happen.

Cedric stood slowly, rubbing his forehead. He then quickly grabbed Jackson by the shoulders and threw him back on the neighboring table.

"What the hell?" Cedric shouted at him.

"You've been messing with my girl," Jackson growled, approaching Cedric. "No one messes with my girl."

"She should be mine!" Cedric snapped. "She just needs to see through your lies to get back to me!"

"She'll never be yours again you bastard!"

With that, Cedric launched onto Jackson, and the pair began scrapping. First Cedric hit Jackson in the face a few times, then Jackson rolled over on top of Cedric and broke his nose. Cedric pulled Jackson's shirt up over his face and jumped on top of him, pummeling him with all his might.

"Tha's enough!" a low, grumbling voice cried.

Jackson and Cedric proceeded to ignore Hagrid, and Jackson was now hitting Cedric's head off the floor.

Hagrid threw his hands into the mess and separated the two.

"Wha' are ya thinkin'?" Hagrid demanded. "Fighin' like tha'. Detentions, both of ya."

Jackson pulled out his wand and pointed it at Cedric, his hand trembling.

"Put that thin' away or I'll break it in two."

Jackson took a step back, grabbed Erin's arm and stomped out of the Great Hall, a bit of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

- - -

"That bastard," Jackson mumbled.

Erin nodded. "You were pretty rough on him."

"He was a bastard to you!" Jackson snapped at her. "How could you even look at scum like him?"

"We had something special at the moment..."

Jackson stopped and grabbed her shoulders roughly.

"You what?"

"I said we had something special..."

"You don't anymore, do you?"

Jackson's voice had grown more high-pitched, and his eyes were growing wide with worry.

"Of course not, Jackson, I'm just saying that..."

"Stop skirting around the truth!" Jackson said, shaking her. "You don't anymore, RIGHT?"

"Of course not!" Erin breathed, her voice faint and her eyes wide. "I have you now, Jackson, why would I need him?"

"Good," Jackson said shortly. He quickly threw Erin into a nearby empty classroom and closed the door behind him.

"What's going on?" Erin asked warily.

"I need some coke."

Jackson ruffled through his bag, pulling out a small baggie and tipping some of the white substance onto the table.

Erin stood to the side with her arms crossed, watching Jackson go through at least three lines before standing up for air.

"You feel better?" she asked softly, tilting her head to the side. Jackson nodded in reply.

"Good," she said. "Because..."

Jackson suddenly pulled her tightly into his arms and began kissing her passionately. Erin felt his bursts of energy pulsating through his body as the passion grew, the kiss deepening.

"Come on," he whispered in her ear. "Let's go somewhere other than the Potions room, where I'm sure that they dissected something yesterday."

- - -


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note:** So, we officially took a bunch of time off. Hopefully we still have fans (please?) that love us. We're truly sorry for the time off, we hope you still love us.

**Chapter 26**

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, it's almost Christmas…thought I have yet to start getting that Christmas cheer that everyone else proclaims to have. My mind is always preoccupied nowadays, mainly with Jackson._

_I'm in deep for the guy, what can I say. My only dilemma is what to get him for Christmas, because even though we spend pretty much every waking moment together, he still never tells me anything about his personal life, and my questions are always unanswered; It's like he's left me permanently in the dark._

_His questions always get answered…I've never had the courage to tell him to mind his own business, not after I saw what he did to Cedric._

_Speaking of the RB…he can't seem to get a hint even when it's jabbed right in his eye. He's still trying to talk to me on a regular basis…pretty much every day, but I ignore him, well, at least until now I've been able to…_

_-Erin_

- - -

_Christmas morning, _Erin thought._ If it were up to me, I'd be sleeping in late and brooding underneath my warm covers._

It's true; Erin was brooding.

Why would someone brood on one of the happiest days of the year?

_I wake up at the crack of dawn, _Erin thought, _thanks to Jeanea jumping up and down on my bed. For some reason she's always excited about Christmas, probably because her bed is flooded with presents, while mine is not._

It wasn't like Erin didn't get a toothpick for Christmas or something radical like that...it's just her parents had never been extremely rich and they never saw the need to spoiling her at Christmas.

Erin felt as if she was having a heart attack as she saw the massive pile of presents sitting at the foot of her bed. She has never seen so many presents; it was almost as if her pile exceeded Jeanea's.

"Merry Christmas!" Jeanea said, finally stopping her incessant bouncing. "Looks like you have a good hoard this year."

Erin looked up at Jeanea, a bright smile on her face.

"I'm usually excited to get one present," she said, "never mind fifteen!"

Erin picked up the package closest to her and ripped it open, giving out a squeal of joy when a new set of guitar picks and a new spiked belt fell into her lap.

"Your old belt was getting so ratty," Jeanea said. "It was due time for a new one."

Erin stood up and gave Jeanea a quick hug.

"Thanks for the sweets, by the way," Jeanea said. "One of the best presents."

"With all the fighting that's been going on, I didn't expect anything," Erin said. "I know I won't get anything from Samaire, Rina, or Benny..."

Erin drifted off, staring absent-mindedly at the pile.

"Open more!" Jeanea said. "Those fucking things aren't gonna open themselves!"

Erin smiled brightly at Jeanea and began opening her presents with a new luster.

- - -

At the end of the process, Erin found herself with new oversized sunglasses (courtesy of Clover), a Potions book from Earl, a cake from her mother, a new set of robes from her father, and a large pile of extravagant gifts from Jackson.

"He got me a new telescope, a pile of CDs, a Pink Floyd poster, an ankle bracelet, a camera, a spell-check quill, and a goddamn diamond ring! Not to mention the fact there's one more present."

"It's probably the matching necklace for the ring," Jeanea said, sniggering. "You know what happens if I see you wearing those together."

"Instant death?" Erin asked, raising her eyebrow at Jeanea.

"Something like that."

Erin picked up the package, her eyebrows shooting up at the air when she saw who it was from.

"Cedric," she muttered.

She opened the present, letting out a gasp.

A beautiful golden chain fell to her lap. There was a golden locket attached to it, though when opened it was empty.

"It's beautiful..." Jeanea muttered, watching as Erin slipped it around her neck.

- - -

_Dear Diary,_

_I understand now._

_I understand what I have to do._

_This will be hard, for I am scared of the repercussions._

_But I can see clearly now._

_-Erin_

- - -

Erin left the common room, adjusting her Father Christmas hat before walking upstairs towards the Great Hall. Jeanea waited for her in the common room, munching on the cake from Erin's mother.

Erin took a seat at one of the benches lined up on the wall of the Great Hall, opening a textbook and repeatedly reading the same line.

"Erin," a firm voice called. "Come here."

Erin looked up from the book, tucked it under her arm, and approached Jackson.

"Merry Christmas," he muttered, taking her hand. "Are you ready to go...celebrate?"

"Well, I..."

He put his hand over her mouth roughly. He was glad the Great Hall was empty spare a quiet first-year.

"What's this?" he snapped, grabbing the locket from Cedric.

Erin stared at the hand that was clasped over her mouth. Wordlessly, Jackson grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the Great Hall, almost at a running pace.

Jackson opened the door to an empty classroom and threw her in.

"Who's that from?" he snapped. "Tell me the fucking truth!"

"Cedric," Erin muttered.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" Jackson shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shoving her against a wall.

"Cedric," Erin said firmly, gazing into Jackson's eyes.

Jackson's fist connected hard with Erin's cheek and she fell to the ground.

"Are you cheating? ARE YOU?"

Erin stood up slowly, rubbing her cheek tenderly. A sly smile crept up on her face before she reaped revenge, punching him square in the jaw.

He bent over double, clutching his jaw, drops of blood seeping through his fingers. When his head came back up, he stared at Erin incredulouslybefore she kneed him hard in the groin.

"Don't ever hit me," she muttered, kicking him hard in the stomach with her combat boots.

Jackson let out a groan, trying to fumble for his wand through his robes. Erin stepped on that hand.

"We're over," she said. "Don't ever come near me again."


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: **I'm back on a roll, hopefully with more regular updates. And, of course, more song lyrics, because I know you all love those ) Or at least, I do...

_Karma police, arrest this man  
He talks in maths  
He buzzes like a fridge  
He's like a detuned radio_

Karma police, arrest this girl  
Her Hitler hairdo is  
Making me feel ill  
And we have crashed her party

This is what you get  
This is what you get  
This is what you get when you mess with us

Karma Police  
I've given all I can  
It's not enough  
I've given all I can  
But we're still on the payroll

This is what you get  
This is what you get  
This is what you get when you mess with us

And for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself  
Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself, I lost myself

-Radiohead; Karma Police

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter 27

Erin re-adjusted her Father Christmas hat, annoyed at the fact that it had begun to tilt off to the side again. She pulled out her wand and used it to wipe the small amount of blood off her hands before re-entering the Great Hall.

Her eyes scanned the Great Hall, searching for her target to no avail. To her surprise the Great Hall was empty, so she used this as an opportunity to wallow in her thoughts.

She sat on the floor, closed her eyes, and tried to wash all the anger out of her. She felt vindicated; she had finally gotten rid of the poison that was Jackson. When Cedric gave her that necklace, she had a realization that she had never truly loved Jackson, but she had merely lusted for him. Though she had to admit that she would miss his bedroom tactics, she would never miss how horribly she treated him.

She stood, cursing loudly at the realization that Cedric went home for Christmas

_Of course he did, _she thought. _He has a family that loves him._

She stared at the doors that lead to the Entrance Hall, willing them to open. Willing them to reveal Cedric, where he would run in and sweep her off her feet. It would be perfect...

- - -

"I can't believe he didn't come sweep me off my feet," Erin said to Jeanea. "Wouldn't that have been so perfect?"

"And when does this 'sweeping off the feet' occur, exactly? Movies? Harlequin romance novels?"

"It happens in real life!"

"Like when? Be realistic."

Erin let out a deep sigh. "Fine, you win. But I wanted something to happen under the mistletoe, or at the toll of New Years...you know how I am with romantics."

"Tough on the outside and mushy on the inside? I can't believe you punched a guy. He'll be way too embarrassed to tell his friends that he got beaten up by a girl!"

- - -

Erin sat in History of Magic class, her face flat down on the desk as quiet snores emitted from her slightly ajar mouth. Jeanea sat beside her, her head resting on her open palm, her eyes open though drool dripped slowly from the corner of her mouth.

"...the goblins had signed the legislature stating they could stay in Britain, but..."

Professor Binns's voice was a dull drone that buzzed over the class like a lone fly. The knock at the door made half the students jump up from their afternoon naps.

"Excuse me, Professor," the intruder said, "but Erin Mykal has to be excused from class. Professor Dumbledore would like to speak to her."

Erin slowly peeled her face off the desk, cringing at the sound that it made.

"Yes...I suppose..." Professor Binns said. He immediately went back to reading his notes off the paper.

Erin walked slowly off to the door, her legs numb after her nap. She exited the classroom, losing her breath at the sight of Cedric.

"Cedric..." she muttered.

"Erin," he said, confidence on his face.

"Talk...over...here?" she stammered, pointing to an adjacent empty classroom. He opened the door for her politely and they both walked in.

Erin sighed, holding her forehead in her hands. She sat on top of a desk, swinging her feet beneath her.

"This years been a roller coaster," she said. "First, I was with you. Then...I got bored. And selfish. I thought it would be best to look for someone new, to get over you.

"I met Jackson." She looked briefly at Cedric, her eyebrow raised. "It...he was tall, dark, handsome...he was..."

"He hurt you."

"But I loved him. And he never hurt me emotionally."

"That's no excuse," Cedric said. "I'm glad you're done with him. I was scared for you."

Erin looked up. Cedric's face was harsh, but she could see lightness in his eyes. "You were scared for me? After what I did?"

"You may make some bad decisions, but you know the truth," he said, taking a step towards her. "You're on my mind day and night. I love you, and we're meant for each other, and you know it."

Erin was surprised to find he wasn't as sensitive and romantic as she was used to. It was if he had grown tougher over their time apart, and she found it irresistible.

She stood, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and leapt into his arms. They kissed passionately, just like they used to. It was as if no time had passed since they had been together before.

He was holding her tight, his body warm. He smelled of spices and light lemon.

He eased her back onto the desk gently. His fingers ran smoothly over her clothes; first her back, then her stomach, then her slender hips.

She threw her head back and he kissed her neck gently, driving her out of control.

- - -

**A/N: **SEX SEX SEX SEX SEX SEXXXX


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: **Thanks to all you guys who still read this...if there are any of you...lol.

_Find yourself a girl, and settle down  
Live a simple life in a quiet town  
_

_So steady as she goes_

Your friends have shown a kink in the single life  
You've had too much to think, now you need a wife

Steady as she goes (steady as she goes)  
So steady as she goes (steady as she goes)  
Well here we go again, you've found yourself a friend, that knows you well  
But no matter what you do, you'll always feel as though you tripped and fell

So steady as she goes

When you have completed what you thought you had to do  
And your blood's depleted to the point of stable glue

Then you'll get along  


_Well here we go again, you've found yourself a friend that knows you well  
But no matter what you do, it always feels as though you tripped and fell  
So steady as she goes  
Steady as she goes_

Settle for a girl and buckle down  
Send it to the crowd that's gathered round  
Settle for a girl and buckle down  
Send it to the crowd that's gathered round

-The Raconteurs; Steady as she goes

**Strange and Beautiful**

Chapter 28

9 months later.

_Dear Diary,_

_It's Cedric and my nine-month anniversary!_

_I never imagined myself with anyone longer than a few weeks. It's hard to believe it. I look at myself now; I'm a seventh-year with a long-term boyfriend. My marks have improved because Cedric has given me initiative to get somewhere in life. I feel older, wiser...almost complete._

_I wish I felt like this last year. I was so lost then. _

_-Erin_

- - -

It was a quiet day in early October, the only sound a soft rustle of the wind blowing through the leaves, occasionally knocking them down to the ground. Erin picked one up and twirled it between her fingers. She was lying on Cedric's stomach, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath. He was reading a textbook for Arithmancy, occasionally taking a note.

"Are you almost done that?" Erin asked. "I'm bored."

"I'm sorry I didn't take the fly courses like _some_ people," Cedric retorted. "I'm only half way through."

"Half way through?" Erin whined. "Wouldn't you rather be doing...other things?"

She sat up and gave him a kiss, letting it linger.

"Excuse me!" a voice in the background said. "No public displays of affection. It's just wrong and gross."

Erin stopped kissing Cedric and turned to Jeanea, who was shaking her finger at Erin.

"I'll have to give you a detention for this," Jeanea said.

"Just because you beat me in the OWLs, doesn't mean that you have power over me."

"I obviously have higher intelligence, which means that I am of greater power than you."

Erin stood up and hit Jeanea gently. "Don't forget that I am whooping you in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"That's because Mad-Eye has the hots for you."

The three of them laughed, and Erin loved the fact that she's brought the Rich Bitches and the Penniless Paupers together.

- - -

September passed by quickly, possibly because everyone was loaded with so much homework they never had time to think about the day of the week. Cedric often stayed up until two in the morning completing essay after essay.

October came, and everyone was surprised to find it was time for the students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang to arrive.

On a Wednesday, Erin and Jeanea were sitting with the old gang. Though Erin was still arguing with Rina, Benny, and Samaire, the group would sit together after school for old times sake.

Samaire was fighting with a cigarette, cursing as the brisk October wind extinguished the flame from her wand.

"Why...won't...this...work?" she cried. "Fucking piece of shit."

She finally gave up, and stood foolishly with the cigarette dangling out of the corner of her mouth.

"It's too fucking cold for this..."

Her voice was cut off when she realized that an external force had lit her cigarette.

"What the fuck...?"

"I thought you need 'ze help."

Samaire turned around, her eyebrow raised. Her mouth opened so wide that the cigarette fell out of it when she realized what she was looking at.

It was a person of perfection in Samaire's eyes. He was just a bit taller than her, which was impressive because Samaire had grown to over 6 feet tall. He had a mohawk that matched hers, though it was jet black instead of hot pink. He had a lip ring, nose stud, and eyebrow ring. She assumed from his accent that he was from Beauxbatons. Instead of wearing the blue robes from Beauxbatons, he was wearing a baggy t-shirt, pants, and combat boots, all in black.

Samaire blinked hard, thinking she was in a dream.

"Who...are...you?" she stammered.

"My name iz Jacques. Someone 'oo iz as beautiful as you must have a beautiful name."

"Samaire," she muttered, her voice quiet from shock.

"That iz beautiful."

Samaire boldly wrapped her arms around his waist and began kissing him passionately.

"Well," Jeanea remarked. "She's doomed."

- - -

Samaire and Jacques disappeared into the castle, presumably to Samaire's bed.

"Stay away from the girls' dormitories if you don't want to be disturbed for life," Erin smirked.

Erik giggled when she felt a pair of arms slink around her waist from behind her. She turned around and gave Cedric a kiss.

"Hey, everyone," he said. After a lot of convincing on Erin's part, Clover, Earl, and Jeanea accepted Cedric as 'cool'.

"Guess what?" he whispered into Erin's ear.

"What?" she asked, breathing heavy in excitement.

"I entered myself into the tournament."

Erin pushed him away, shock on her face. "No way!" she exclaimed.

"You told me I should start taking risks," he said, "so I did."

"Congrats," Earl muttered, taking his nose out of his books momentarily. Clover was sitting beside him, his arm wrapped around Earl's waist as he nibbled at Earl's neck. Earl never seemed to notice because he was so deep in his studies.

"You better damn win this thing!" Erin said. "It would be embarrassing to be the girlfriend of a loser."

"You know I'll win, my only competition is crazy Frenchmen and ugly Bulgarians."

Erin stood on her toes to whisper in Cedric's ear. "Let's go celebrate."

Cedric swept her up into his arms and they headed to the castle.

"Let's go to your dormitories," Erin said, "mine are a little...occupied."

- - -

**A/N: **We're baaaaack! Well, we'll try. I don't know how often updates are going to be, Danni has another fanfic to balance, but we'll try. ☺


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